NIP

Maine moms have a legal right to nourish junior the old-fashioned way

Thursday, June 23, 2005

COMMUNITY VOICES: Meike Jenness

Maine moms have a legal right to nourish junior the old-fashioned way

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

 

 

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Some people might not be aware of this, but two recently coined words, "lactivist" and "lactivism," have been added to the English language.

Their current usage seems confined to the description of breast-feeding mothers fighting for the right to breast-feed in public spaces and not be told to go to a bathroom, cover their breasts or leave their babies at home.

They attend events called "nurse-ins." The movement seems to have started in New York in 1994. Since then, nurse-ins have taken place in other states as the occasion arose.

The most recent nurse-in was staged in NewYork two weeks ago. It was organized against cast members of ABC-TV's "The View," on which Barbara Walters is reported to have said she was made uncomfortable by the sight of a woman breast-feeding a baby on a flight she was on.

The nurse-in was called almost as soon as the program aired to protest the general anti-nursing attitude at "The View" and the comments made concerning their opinions that breast-feeding was "gross and disgusting."

The nurse-in was also called to protest the celebration of one of the cast member's infant daughter being introduced to her first bottle feeding.

Some 200 women are said to have responded in New York, while supporters in other cities also staged nurse-ins of their own. Ms. Walters is further reported to have expressed surprise at the reaction to her comments.

I did not see that ABC program. But, I did catch CNN's coverage of the nurse-in and the reasons for it.

The crew of ABC's "The View" have the right to free speech and expression. For all we know, they might be genuinely uncomfortable with public breast-feeding. Perhaps the program should have been used to investigate the wellsprings of those feelings.

There is an African saying, "When you touch a woman, you touch a rock." In English, this can be translated as "Don't mess with women, or you'll be in deep trouble."

Reports that ABC is in damage control mode now, with the "The View" staff dousing the fires their comments fanned, don't come as a suprise. It would be interesting to know what form the damage control will take. A public apology, perhaps, and the introduction of baby-friendly rules at the workplace that would allow mothers time off for nursing.

All 50 states have laws that promote and support breast-feeding. Thirty states allow mothers to breast-feed in any public or private location. New York State is included on that list, as is Maine. This state's breast-feeding laws were passed in 1999 and 2001.

The 1999 law considers the needs of a nursing infant when deciding on custody rights when people get divorced. The 2001 law protects the right of mothers to breastfeed in public or privately.

These laws, however, did not prevent an "exposed breast incident" from taking place in February 2005, when the cover of Mothering Magazine showed a mother breast-feeding an infant.

A woman customer complained at the Wild Oats natural store here in Portland that she was uncomfortable having her son see the magazine cover.

To placate the woman, the magazines were taken off the shelf. The furor that followed with "nurse-ins" and call -ins and media coverage by not least of all, this paper, resulted in the magazine finding its was back to the store's shelves.

The incident proves that there needs to be more public discussions about breast-feeding in the media. The topic should not be confined to so-called women's magazines.

This might help in breaking down the cultural attitudes that are so hard to break that a media personality of Barbara Walters' stature can say what she said publicly, and then be surprised by the outrage that followed.

And when talking about cultural habits being hard to break, I, for one, did breastfeed in public. Not to have done so would have been too high a price to pay for assimilation.

bottle feeding was not an option, in private or in public. And at the risk of adding to the long list of stories told about mothers being intimidated to not nurse in public, I experienced that right here in Portland, long before the 2001 law was passed.

Like the lactivists, I support the campaign by the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics for the promotion and support of breast-feeding.

As for formula bottle feeding, it has its uses, and I appreciate the role it played in liberating women. But I question its usefulness in some developing countries, where potable water is hard to find. One size does not fit all.

Meike Jenness of Peaks Island is a freelance writer and occasional videographer. She can be contacted at:

meikiej@hotmail.com