At the request of some of my colleagues, I am recirculating a memo my office sent out Friday regarding AB 57—otherwise known as the Right to Breastfeed legislation.  I ask that you support this bill when it comes before you on the Assembly floor today.

 

Sandy

 

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

September is Infant Mortality Awareness Month.  The infant mortality rate for African-Americans in Wisconsin is the highest in the nation and rival rates found in third-world nations.  It is well-known that breastfeeding reduces infant mortality rates, as children who were breastfed had 20% lower risk of dying between 28 days and one year than children who were not breastfed.

 

As you may know, I have introduced legislation—Assembly Bill 57—to allow a woman to breastfeed in any public or private place, where she is otherwise authorized to be, without interference.  The reality that such a bill is necessary is unfortunate, as woman have been breastfeeding children forever.  However, in more recent times, women in our state have been subject to harassment for the normal act of feeding their children.  In Wisconsin, the law exempts a woman from public indecency charges, but she may be asked to leave an area, or to feed her infant in a restroom.  Public testimony on this bill revealed the need to protect breastfeeding families, as mothers across the state continue to encounter harassment while breastfeeding their children.  This legislation will protect breastfeeding mothers from intimidation and harassment and facilitate improved health of infants and mothers alike. 

 

There is overwhelming evidence in support of breastfeeding, both for the mother and the infant. This is what we know about its benefits:

 

Ÿ         It is the most complete form of nutrition for infants;

Ÿ         Breast milk contains antibodies that that protect infants from bacterial and viral infections (breastfed infants have fewer ear infections, respiratory infections, and other illnesses);

Ÿ         Breastfed infants require fewer hospitalizations, prescriptions, and healthcare visits;

Ÿ         Infants who are not breastfed have higher rates of infant mortality;

Ÿ         Mothers who breastfeed have lower rates of pre-menopausal breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis.

 

The Senate version of this bill (SB 16) was passed with an amendment which severely undermines the intent of this bill, with the language changed from one cannot interfere with a woman’s right to breastfeed, to one cannot prohibit a woman from breastfeeding.  I have worked with a number of stakeholders to draft language which clarifies the intent of the legislation, explicitly outlining the rights of a breastfeeding mother.  In addition, there has been some debate over including a "modesty clause" in the bill.  This could cause great distress to mothers not knowing how to satisfy such a subjective standard.  It would also open any mother up to allegations that she was not doing it discretely enough.  Such language could have a chilling effect on mothers and would certainly discourage them from breastfeeding,

 

Healthy People 2010 has a goal of increasing the number of women who breastfeed at birth to 75%, and at six months of age to 50%.  Wisconsin has a long way to go to reach those goals—only 62% of Wisconsin mothers breastfeed at birth, and only 22% continue for five to six months.  With September being National Infant Mortality Awareness Month, I hope this bill will help promote efforts in reducing these tragic and preventable deaths.  43 states have passed laws with language that specifically allows a woman to breastfeed in any public or private location, and I look forward to seeing Wisconsin finally join this rank. 

 

AB 57 has been scheduled for a floor vote this Tuesday, September 22.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding the legislation, please contact my office by Monday, September 21. 

 

I urge you to support this bill as amended in the Assembly Public Health Committee (see attached memo) without any further changes when it comes to the floor. 

 

Thanks,

Sandy

 

 

 

 

 

Breastfeeding Decreases Infant Mortality

Research Triangle Park, N.C. — Data analyzed by scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences suggest that breastfeeding can reduce the risk of death for infants in their first year of life. Looking at infants between 28 days and one year of age, researchers concluded that promoting breastfeeding can potentially prevent up to 720 postneonatal deaths in the U.S. each year.

Researchers compared CDC records of 1,204 children who died between 28 days and one year of causes other than congenital anomalies or cancer with those of 7,740 children still alive at one year.

Children who were breastfed had 20% lower risk of dying between 28 days and one year than children who weren't breastfed. Longer breastfeeding was associated with lower risk. The effect was the same in both black and white children.

Breastfed infants in the U.S. have lower rates of morbidity, especially from infectious disease, but there are no contemporary US studies of the effect of breastfeeding on all-cause mortality in the first year of life.

The study appears in the May issue of the scientific journal, Pediatrics, and will be released at the 2004 Academic Pediatrics Societies meeting in San Francisco on May 2.

Aimin Chen, MD, Ph.D. and Walter J Rogan, MD (both in the Epidemiology Branch at NIEHS, one of the National Institutes of Health) are the authors of the study. Dr. Rogan said, "Although we knew that breastfeeding in the developing world was lifesaving, since it prevented diarrhea and pneumonia, we had no nationally representative data from the US on this very basic outcome. These data show that, even in the US, there is a modest decrease in mortality for breastfed children."