Living in California affords me with many advantages – especially being a mama, we have extra time off (in addition to FMLA) to be with our children (CFRA), we get paid part of our salary while we are out with our children (SDI, PFL) and when we do decide to go back to work there are laws protecting our rights as breastfeeding mamas (our employers are required by law to allow us time to pump and a lactation room to do it in).
Unfortunately my friends who live out of state don’t have these same rights or advantages. So there is a Breastfeeding Promotion Act to sign and send to Congress to urge our legislatures to sign this into law and help make it possible for women to continue nursing their babies even after they have returned to work. This is what the Act would do…..
Please click on the link and sign the petition to be sent to congress to get this Act approved.
For me, breastfeeding was a given. I didn’t care where I was, who was around, etc. I just knew my children were going to be breastfed regardless of what measures I had to take ( spending every lunch, and break in a closet in my office pumping – sooooo worth it!) Unfortunately, not everyone is as accepting and some women feel embarrassed or modest about it and don’t feel comfortable nursing in public or asking their employers for a spot to pump. So if we can get this Act to become National we can open up some avenues for women who may have given up on nursing upon their return to work, or worse yet not even tried because they knew they would have to stop once they returned to work. Also I think it’s important, on a national level, for our society to move beyond the taboo and the stares when a woman nurses in public. I remember sitting at a mall in Illinois and I sat down on a bench to nurse and people actually took double takes. I was blown away. I know where I live in California it’s the norm (I think people may get looks for giving a bottle as opposed to a breast) but I definitely felt some stares and sideway glances – as if they were saying “can you believe she’s not being more discreet or can you believe she’s doing that in public”. Just a bit of a weird feeling (but of course it made me want to do it more – because it’s such a beautiful act and people should appreciate it and not fear it).
Anyways, please sign and send off to our local legislature if you support the breastfeeding mamas.
Nurse on Mama’s!!
June 27, 2009 at 11:12 am
I’ve noticed lately that people, even here in town, are so much more discreet with nursing that the two of us ever were. People go sit in other rooms or wear those giant cover ups. And I’ve been seeing a lot more bottles too. Were we just total exhibitionists pulling up our shirts in public? It sure didn’t seem like it. It felt like the right thing to do. I miss it!
Well, I’m all for more rights in the workplace for working moms and making breastfeeding encouraging and accepted.
June 27, 2009 at 12:28 pm
ya, not sure what’s going on. I too have noticed a lot of wee ones being fed by bottle (I sometimes wonder if they are tourists? ) or is there a scary trend beginning where mama’s aren’t nursing their babes? Oh, I hope not.
I don’t think we were exhibitionists – maybe nursing Ryder while standing in line at the pharmacy was a bit unusual – but you gotta do what you gotta do. I so miss those days. I’m glad I had those times with my kids (and you never had to worry about keeping it cool – now I have to buy aseptic rice milk so we have it for “on the go” and then always have an ice pack for the leftovers – total pain.