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Women who breastfeed in the United States are subject to harassment and ridicule no matter where they go. A woman who was shopping at a national lingerie chain once was told to go feed her baby in the alley behind the store when she asked to use a changing room to feed her child. There are stories like this on a daily basis. The fact of the matter is that women are allowed to breastfeed their children whenever and wherever they need or want to in 49 states. But what’s more is how ridiculous it is that women even have to defend their right to breastfeed their children in the first place.
For a multitude of reasons, only a little over half of the infants in the United States are breastfed past six months, even though the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants be breastfed to one year. Some women aren’t able to breastfeed for medical or personal reasons, and there’s no reason to give them any grief about it. But what does need to change is support for the women who are willing and able to breastfeed their children and just keep running into walls.
There are some stores and museums that provide breastfeeding and pumping rooms for lactating women, and those places are on the right track. Women can breastfeed anywhere they want and the only thing you should ever say to them is, “can I get you anything?” But for the women who are pumping and the women who just want privacy, they are still being directed to restrooms to feed their babies. Do you eat in a restroom? I don’t, and neither should a baby.
If we want to support women who breastfeed, we’re going to have to do better. If you own a business put a lactation plan into place so that when women return from maternity leave they know their efforts to feed their children will be supported. If you are in charge of a business make sure that women have a place to feed their children if they want privacy. And most importantly, train your staff to leave breastfeeding women alone.
Breastfeeding isn’t just a women’s issue, it’s a human issue. Let’s all do what we can to support breastfeeding mothers. Learn more about breastfeeding rights from the infographic below.
++ Click to Enlarge Image Chart++
You Have The Right To Breastfeed Your Baby
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Photo credit: Getty Images