1. Double any gift given before December 31, 2009. Generous donors have agreed to match dollar-for-dollar any donation made between now and December 31, 2009. Your financial contribution will go twice as far in supporting breastfeeding mothers around the world.

2. Help fix what has gone wrong. The need for mother-to-mother breastfeeding support is greater than ever! As a breastfeeding advocate it saddens me that mothers continue to receive bad advice and misinformation from many of the medical professionals that provide care to new mothers and their nurslings. Somewhere along the way we lost the model of grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters and neighbors gathering to rally around the new mother with advice and support. La Leche League works to fill that gap by offering breastfeeding education during a woman’s pregnancy followed by telephone and in-person individual and group support after the birth.

3. Give a little back for what you have received. If you were lucky enough to receive breastfeeding support from a La Leche League leader, group or member, now is the time to say “thank you” by making a contribution in honor of your supporters.

4. Non-profit organizations like LLLI need financial support now more than ever. In an economic downturn, non-profit organizations suffer as much or more than corporations do. The number and size of donations go down just as the demand for services goes up! Help supply LLLI with the funds to meet the demand (that was a little breastfeeding reference, in case you missed my awesome word play there ).

5. Charity Accreditation. La Leche League International is a Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited organization that meets all 20 of the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability.

So what are you waiting for? Give thanks this holiday season by giving to La Leche League International and your your-end gift will be doubled in value!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Google Analytics map for Blisstree's Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blog

The next four countries are:

2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. India
5. Australia

I have been talking a lot about breastfeeding advocacy opportunities in the United States, so tonight I would like to share a breastfeeding advocacy opportunity for each of the other four countries listed. Please feel free to leave a comment if you are from any of those four countries and you have resources you would like to share!

Canada

“Join INFACT Canada and INFACT Quebec and sign on to the ‘Protect Breastfeeding Petition’ at http://protectbreastfeedingpetition.ca/. You can make a difference for mothers and children, sign the petition, share the petition and join us for a better world for all of us.”

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom you can read and sign the Breastfeeding Manifesto, an eight-page document that outlines seven objectives that support breastfeeding. The Manifesto notes:

The UK Governments and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, yet fewer than 2% of babies in the UK are exclusively breastfed at six months.

India

The Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India works to protect, promote and support breastfeeding in that country. You can endorse your views on an infant’s right to food by entering your name and email address.

Australia

The Australian Breastfeeding Association has a page dedicated to breastfeeding advocacy which includes a link to the incident report form for the marketing of infant formulas in Australia.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Lots of carnival participants have shared their own stories and advice about nursing in public (see links at the end of this post), but first I would like to discuss the issue of whether women should or should not cover themselves with a nursing cover while breastfeeding in public. At first it might seem like a non-issue. I think most breastfeeding advocates would agree that women should not be told that they must cover themselves while nursing, but if a mother feels more comfortable using a cover, then she should use one — whatever it takes to allow her to feed her baby. To each her own, right? Well, maybe not.

Bebe Au Lait Nursing Cover

I have posted instructions for sewing your own Hooter Hider-style nursing cover and have had several women say how much they appreciate it. However, I once had a breastfeeding advocate tell me that she was not inclined to post a pattern for a nursing cover because she believed it sent the wrong message to new mothers; that they might feel they had to cover up and had to breastfeed in as discreet a manner as possible.

So in the corner of Reasons to Cover:

~ It can make a woman comfortable nursing in public when she might not otherwise.
~ A cover can help an easily distracted baby settle to the task at hand (er, at breast).
~ The cover actually draws attention to the act of breastfeeding and might encourage other women to nurse in public if they see a way that they too would be comfortable nursing in public.

In the corner of Reasons Not to Cover:

~ Some babies refuse to be covered.
~ Without the “right” type of cover, some women have a difficult time seeing the baby and getting a proper latch.
~ A cover potentially can be hot and uncomfortable for mother and baby.
~ As I said, a nursing cover often draws attention to the act of breastfeeding — something a woman using a cover might actually have been trying to avoid!
~ Feeding without a nursing cover helps normalize breastfeeding.
~ Showing women that breastfeeding in public can be done without a cover might empower other women to do the same.
~ A cover might diminish a baby’s communication with the mother and his or her experience with the world, if only for those feedings in public.

In the end I do not think a breastfeeding mother is under any obligation to refrain from using a cover because it might send the wrong message. Just as the woman who does not use a cover is not “whipping out” her breast to make a point, the woman who does use a cover is not doing so to send a message that all breastfeeding women should cover themselves. A nursing mother’s only obligation is to her baby. Period.

What do you think? Do you use a cover and if so, why? Did you make a choice not to use a cover, and if so, why? Have your feelings changed as you have become more comfortable nursing in public? Leave a comment!

Other Carnival Participants (stay tuned for more links being added below through Monday, June 22 — this is a huge carnival!)

Lucy & Ethel Have a Baby: Nursing In Public (Boobs) Out and Proud
PhD in Parenting: Would You, Could You Nurse in Public?
Dirty Diaper Laundry: Breastfeeding in Public Talent – I Haz It
Kim through the Looking Glass: Here? At the Restaurant?
GrudgeMom: Nursing in a Room Full of People You Know
MumUnplugged: Aww, Is He Sleeping?
Massachusetts Friends of Midwives: Nursing in Public: Chinatown, the Subway, the Vatican, and More
Mother Mary’s Soapbox: Breastfeeding My Newborn in Public
Tiny Grass: Nursing in Public as an Immigrant
Mommy News and Views: Tips for Nursing in Public
Blacktating: Thank You for Nursing in Public
Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog: Get Kicked off a Bus for Nursing in Public? Here’s How to Respond
Mama Knows Breast: Products That Can Help You Breastfeed in Public
BreastfeedingMums: Nursing in Public: What’s a Breastfeeding Mother to Do
Stork Stories: Little Old Men & Nursing in Public
Chronicles of a Nursing Mom: Why Worry about NIP?
Warm Hearts Happy Family: Breastfeeding and the Summertime
Musings on Mamahood: NIP, no tuck
babyREADY: A Wee NIP in the Park
Tales of Life with a Girl on the Go: Plains, Trains and Automobiles, We’ve Breastfed in Them All
Breastfeeding Moms Unite: Nursing in Public, A Fresh Perspective on Nurse-ins
Never a Dull Moment: A NIP Product Alternative: Breastfeeding Hats versus Traditional Nursing Covers
Hobo Mama: Easy, Discreet Way to Nurse a Toddler in Public

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

You can look up the contact information for your representatives and senators and use the following sample letter or your own draft to write to your representatives and senators to ask them to co-sponsor the Breastfeeding Promotion Act (HR2819 / S1244). I have adapted this sample letter from the advocacy kit provided by the District of Columbia Breastfeeding Coalition for the 2007 Act.

“Subject: Co-Sponsor [H.R. 2819 / S. 1244]
Dear [Representative/Senator] ________:

As your constituent and a _________[insert occupation], I urge you to cosponsor H.R. 2819 / S. 1244, the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009, introduced by Representative Carolyn Maloney and Senator Jeff Merkley.

Breastfeeding is proven to benefit both the mother and child. Studies show that infants who are not breastfed are more likely to be hospitalized for respiratory infections and diarrhea. Breastfeeding protects children against the debilitating diseases of asthma and childhood obesity, potentially decreases the risk of SIDS and protects mothers from developing breast and ovarian cancer. Breastfeeding has significant economic and environmental benefits for families and society by improving maternal and child health and decreasing or eliminating the need to purchase expensive formula. Because the evidence for improved child and maternal health with breastfeeding is so clear, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers breastfeed exclusively for the first six months and then continue breastfeeding, with the addition of solid foods, for at least the first year of a child’s life.

Many women do not breastfeed or stop breastfeeding because they work in environments that do not allow them to take breaks to pump their breast milk in private areas. In contrast, women who breastfeed and work in supportive work settings have less absenteeism, lower health care expenditures, and greater job satisfaction than women who work in unsupportive or less supportive environments. The Breastfeeding Promotion Act would take significant steps toward protecting all breastfeeding mothers from discrimination and encouraging new mothers to breastfeed.

Already, there is national support for breastfeeding legislation. Forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have enacted various laws protecting breastfeeding mothers, but they are not uniform, and most are not comprehensive. [H.R. 2819 / S. 1244] would provide this broad coverage by amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and granting all breastfeeding women protection from workplace discrimination. [H.R. 2819 / S. 1244] would require employers with over 50 employees to provide a private space and unpaid time off during the workday for mothers to express milk, and would set standards for breast pump manufacture. It also would provide for tax incentives for employers that establish private lactation areas in the workplace and tax credits for nursing mothers. Please co-sponsor [H.R. 2819 / S. 1244]. This will allow us to move beyond the patchwork of state laws and provide a unified national policy that encourages breastfeeding and keeps families and their communities healthy. All new mothers deserve the opportunity and support to breastfeed and give their children the best start to life.

To co-sponsor this important legislation, please contact [Representative Maloney’s office at 202.225.7944 or Senator Merkley's office at 202.224.3753].

Sincerely,
Your name
Your street address
City, State Zip”

Your Thoughts

Have you written in? Do you have any experience advocating breastfeeding legislation? Do you have any resources or thoughts? Leave a comment!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3