Breastfeeding Promotion Act

Posted by Kim:

United States Breastfeeding Committee

On June 11, 2009, Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (NY) and Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) introduced the Breastfeeding Promotion Act in both houses of Congress, to provide a unified national policy to keep mothers, their children, and their communities healthy. This is the first time the bill has been introduced in the Senate.

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).

To read the full text of this bill please click here

TELL CONGRESS TO SUPPORT THE BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT - click here

The information about the following proposal came to me from Heather Maurer, administrator of the Facebook group Natural Childbirth and Breastfeeding Advocates. This group is a group of women (& it could include men) who believe in the power of our bodies, the ability to give birth naturally with out medication, in the location of our choice, with a qualified birth attendant of our choice, the spiritual connection to our children and the truth that we our empowered by the birth process. We believe in the benefits on all levels of breastfeeding for mother and child. We encourage all women to get in touch with their true selves and believe in themselves, and trust the birth process. To learn more please visit their fan page: Natural Childbirth and Breastfeeding Advocates or their Discussion Boards.