Can it be in the that in the 21st Century, we are struggling with creating laws that give a woman the right to breastfeed in public? Is it possible that some of us are of the opinion that breastfeeding a child is not a beautiful act of love? Are there still people who believe a woman and her baby should be hidden away in a public restroom when it is time to nurse?
What is it that we are afraid to see? Is a woman's breast so unsightly and disgusting? And is it strange that men can expose their breasts with comfort and freedom, yet women must cover themselves? From what dark ages did this belief come from? And is it time now to change this old belief?
Is a society in which a woman feels any shame or fear to feed her child at the moment her child is hungry an ill founded society? Would we deny anyone the right to eat when hungry? Do our infants have less rights than anyone else?
Throwing women off airplanes or charging them with indecent exposure for the normal act of nursing can no longer be an accepted practice in our country. In the land of the free, isn't it time for mother's to be free to feed their babies?
Benefits of Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is universally endorsed by the world’s health and scien-tific organizations as the best way of feeding infants. Breastfed chil-
dren:
• score higher on cognitive and IQ tests and also on tests of visual acuity
• have a lower incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• are less likely to suffer from infectious illnesses and their symp-toms (e.g., diarrhea, ear infections, respiratory tract infections,
meningitis)
• have a lower risk of the two most common inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
• suffer less often from some forms of cancer (e.g., Hodgkin’s dis-ease, childhood leukemia)
• have a lower risk of juvenile onset diabetes, when there is a family history of the disease and the children are breastfed exclusively for
at least 4 months
• are significantly protected against asthma and eczema, when at risk for allergic disorders and breastfed exclusively for at least 4
months
• may have a lower risk of obesity in childhood and in adolescence
• have fewer cavities and are less likely to require braces
