Sarah Kulakovich is used to people staring, scowling and leering at her as she breastfeeds her children.
The Lakeville mom used to fret over her daily routine, wondering where she could discreetly nurse her baby while out of the house.
“I used to let public areas impact my routine,” said Kulakovich. “I would make the extra walk to the moms’ area, or to my car. But my third child broke me of that habit… Something had to give and that was not caring about what other people think.”
On Friday, Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law An Act to Promote Breastfeeding, a bill that protects a mother’s right to nurse her baby in public, and one that could impose a $500 fine to anyone who harasses a nursing mother.
“This is a great victory for public health,” said Dr. Melissa Bartick, an internist and chairwoman of the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition. “Mothers can now follow medical recommendations without feeling that they have to be confined to toilet stalls.”
Bartick says the law establishes that breastfeeding is the normal way to feed infants, and that all medical organizations recommend that babies receive only breast milk for the first six months of life. She says research shows that infants who are not breastfed face higher rates of ear infections, diarrhea, pneumonia, asthma and obesity, and mothers who do not breastfeed face higher rates of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and diabetes.
Bartick notes that, despite the research, Massachusetts moms have faced opposition to breastfeeding. She cited a case in which a mother visiting a lingerie store was told she could not breastfeed there because it was “inappropriate,” another mother who was expelled from a party supply store for nursing her infant, and third returning to Massachusetts on an Amtrak train who was told she could not breastfeed on board.
Bartick says there are only two other states with no breastfeeding legislation, North Dakota and West Virginia. As in the states do have similar legislation, the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition will provide to breastfeeding mothers a “license to breastfeed” card with details of the new law and how to report any violation.
“Women deserve credit, not disgust, for doing what is best for their child,” says Lisa Gerrior, a member of the Lakeville Area Mothers’ Club, an organization that offers support to parents and children in the towns surrounding Lakeville. “At times, breastfeeding can be very taxing, both physically and emotionally … but knowing the bond you are creating with your child — in addition to the many health benefits to both mother and child — makes you forget all of those things. “
“Hopefully this legislation will help mothers feel more comfortable feeding their babies at the breast as they go about their daily lives,” says Ellen Bordman of Bridgewater, a leader with the Le Leche League. “Hopefully mothers will opt to breastfeed their babies longer. Some mothers start out breastfeeding, but give up after a week or two due to lack of support.”
The new legislation comes after eight years of advocacy, with key leadership from Senator Susan Fargo, who first introduced a breastfeeding legislation several sessions ago. The Senate passed this bill in January 2008, and the House approved it in December.
(First state to make school attendance mandatory, 3rd to last to support breastfeeding mothers rights)
Massachusetts! The Spirit of America
Well, better late than never, I guess
