Michigan Representative Rebekah Warren has introduced a new breastfeeding bill, House Bill 5515. HB 5515 would allow a woman to breastfeed anywhere she may otherwise legally be. The law would amend the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to state in part:
Sec. 302. Except where permitted by law, a person shall not: (a) Deny the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation or public service to an individual because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, or marital status or to a woman because she is breastfeeding a child.
To …read more

Great news out of Michigan this month! State representatives Rebekah Warren and Tonya Schuitmaker plan to introduce a resolution and a bill in support of mothers’ right to breastfeed. Rep. Warren states:
Michigan is one of only a handful of states that still fails to protect breastfeeding moms from being harassed, segregated, or otherwise discouraged from breastfeeding in public. Breastfeeding moms must be allowed to feed their infants wherever they may otherwise legally be. This is more than a lifestyle choice; it is an important health choice.
While the bill has not been formally introduced in the House yet, it appears that …read more

This week’s breastfeeding picture embodies the epitome of peacefulness! As this mother and baby picnic in the meadow, you can practically see the breastfeeding hormones prolactin and oxytocin working to relax the baby and mother and to promote bonding between the two
I think it’s lovely how breastfeeding helps a family get out into the fresh air together. I often hear women say “I can’t do [X] because I’m breastfeeding” (whether that’s true or not) and so I think it’s really important to highlight what mothers can do (or at least can do more easily) because they are breastfeeding!

Remember this Mom-to-Mom question asking for tips for traveling with a nursling and for advice about nursing in a dress at a wedding? This toddler nursing photo addresses the second part of the question by demonstrating one way of breastfeeding while wearing a fancy dress. The mother in this case wore a nursing bra underneath a dress that could be pulled aside at the top.
What a darling little flower girl! I suspect that toddler nursing break was just the thing she needed to re-charge and re-connect during the excitement of the wedding and reception! Her mother looked gorgeous too …read more

Even a beginning sewer can sew nursing clothes for herself or as a baby shower gift. While special nursing clothes are certainly not necessary (and can be very pricey!), these patterns provide a frugal option for nursing mothers. In addition to the free instructions for breastfeeding projects available here on Breastfeeding 1-2-3, I have compiled a list of sources for sewing patterns for breastfeeding clothes.
Nursing Clothes Pattern Retailers
Blessed Designs – click on “Nursing Patterns” in the sidebar and you can find patterns for nursing lingerie (nursing sleep bra, nightgown, camisole and tummy cover), a hoodie sweatshirt and jacket, and …read more

It never fails to amaze me how companies manage to get themselves into hot water for failing to follow the law regarding breastfeeding in public or in the workplace! Here are just a few of the most recent incidents.
Acosta Tacos: The owner of Acosta Tacos in Los Angeles, California has been ordered to pay Marina Chavez $21,645.00 in lost wages plus $20,000.00 for emotional damages after the owner fired Chavez for breastfeeding her baby on her breaks. In this groundbreaking case, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission found that breastfeeding is intrinsic to the female sex and thus breastfeeding …read more

Today my husband took my older girls to a major league baseball game while I stayed home with my 11-month-old. The minute her sisters (i.e., the entertainment) left she started fussing! Who wants to stay home with boring old mom anyway?! Now I say this in the most loving way possible: this child is like a dog, if only in the sense that she goes to the door, bangs on it with her hands and yells until I say we’re going out! She wants to be where the action is, there’s no mistaking that.
o we headed out the door …read more

Generally we think of “nursing in public” as nursing anywhere besides the privacy of our own homes. However, the laws that protect nursing in public do not apply in the privacy of someone else’s home. Sometimes, the people who should support a nursing mother the most — her extended family and friends — are the ones who are uncomfortable seeing her nursing. In the comments for the last Carnival of Breastfeeding on Nursing in Public, Jenny raised this very issue:
Unfortunately, I have been faced with the choice of covering up/leaving the room to nurse or starting a big fight–especially …read more

Welcome to the discussion of Nursing in Public for the June Carnival of Breastfeeding! If you are new here and/or have not yet joined the Facebook group I created in support of the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009, please consider doing so!
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 …read more

This breastfeeding photo shows a mother nursing her baby in a sling, although you wouldn’t know it unless you read the title and captions!
Here’s the best part of this photo of a woman nursing her baby in a sling while they both rode the train in South Africa — the comments by the wife (the woman shown) and husband (the photographer).
Wife: “Home made sling, home made baby, home made food.”
Husband: “Technically, *hotel* made baby ”
Thanks for the laugh guys, and thanks for showing how comfortably breastfeeding can be done while babywearing.