“Dear Friend:

On June 11, Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (NY) and Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) introduced the Breastfeeding Promotion Act in both houses of Congress. This is the first time the bill has been introduced in the Senate.

Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands already have enacted various laws protecting breastfeeding mothers, but they are not uniform and most are not comprehensive. Ask your Representative and Senators to co-sponsor the Breastfeeding Promotion Act to provide a unified national policy to keep mothers, their children, and their communities healthy.

**TAKE ACTION**
Tell your Representative and Senators to co-sponsor the Breastfeeding Promotion Act:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5162/t/6359/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1697

We know that breastfeeding is good for mothers, babies, and society. The medical evidence shows that NOT breastfeeding increases the baby’s risk of infections, diarrhea, SIDS, obesity, diabetes, asthma, and childhood leukemia, and increases the mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancers and diabetes.Breastfeeding also has significant economic and environmental benefits for families, employers, and society.

Given all of these benefits, all major medical authorities (including the Department of Health and Human Services), recommend that babies get no food or drink other than breast milk for their first 6 months and continue to breastfeed for at least the first 1-2 years of life. But mothers need more support: only 12% of U.S. mothers are exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months, and only 21% are still breastfeeding at 1 year.

Interest in breastfeeding is at an all-time high: 77% of women breastfeed their infants at birth. But breastfeeding rates drop rapidly after hospital discharge. More than 50% of women with infants less than one year old are in the labor force. Employed mothers are more likely to stop breastfeeding early if they do not receive the support they need in the workplace.

Together we can change this! Tell Congress to support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act to provide the support mothers need!

WRITE TO CONGRESS:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5162/t/6359/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1697

The Breastfeeding Promotion Act (H.R. 2819, S. 1244) includes five provisions:
1. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding women from being fired or discriminated against in the workplace.
2. Provides tax incentives for businesses that establish private lactation areas in the workplace, or provide breastfeeding equipment or consultation services to their employees.
3. Provides for a performance standard to ensure breast pumps are safe and effective.
4. Allows breastfeeding equipment and consultation services to be tax deductible for families (amends Internal Revenue Code definition of “medical care”).
5. Protects the privacy of breastfeeding mothers by ensuring they have break time and a private place to pump (applies to employers with 50 or more employees, see text of legislation for details).

You’ve been making great strides at the state level, and we know we can do it at the national level too! With a few clicks of the mouse today, you can help build critical support for a groundbreaking bill to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding in the United States.

We look forward to continuing our important work together to improve the health of mothers and babies, and thank you in advance for your support.”

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

Representative Maloney announcing the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009

Incredibly, this is the fifth time the Act has been up for consideration. Representative Maloney spoke to a crowd of nursing mothers on Capitol Hill:

This bill is needed now more than ever, as moms head back to work earlier than ever during this recession. I hope that with Senator Merkley’s good efforts, we can get this bill to the President.

You can see the full text of the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 (H.R. Bill 2819) online. Representative Maloney summarizes it as follows:

This bill will bring breastfeeding mothers under the protection of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, require employers with over 50 employees to provide a private space and unpaid time off during the workday for mothers to express milk, and sets standards for breast pump manufacture. It also provides for tax incentives for employers that establish private lactation areas in the workplace and tax credits for nursing mothers.

Senator Merkley, who championed a workplace breastfeeding bill in Oregon two years ago, is now behind legislation at the federal level.

It’s not every day we have the opportunity to enact legislation that is so clearly a win-win for families and our nation. Making it easier for moms to breastfeed means we have healthier babies, stronger families and happier workers

Kudos to Senator Merkley for being the first congressperson to sponsor the bill in the Senate!

What can you do to see that the fifth time is the charm? Write to your state’s elected officials in Congress and urge them to support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 (HR 2819)!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3