Massachusetts House unanamously passes breastfeeding bill of rights

And it's about damn time in my opinion.  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is in the minority in not having protection for nursing mothers, leaving these mothers open to persecution and segregation just for feeding their child.  As it is now a mother who chooses to breastfeed in a public can be labeled a sex offender under the public indecency laws and can be forced by restaraunts and stores to feed their babies in uncomfortable and unsanitary locations like public bathrooms or a stool in the back of the store.  Add to this the horrible campaign of formula companies to convince people that formula is actually better than breastmilk, thankfully this campaign is being fought and documented by the ban the bags movement.

The ban the bags movement is trying to get hspitals to stop promoting formula feeding and distributing the free samples and pamphlets found in the free diaper bags given out in hospitals.  I was personally appalled at how readily information on formula feeding was given and how difficult it was to get in touch with the hospitals lactation consultant.  I was lucky in that I had te full and total support of my partner and my family and was able to succesfully breastfeed my daughter for 15 months.  I know of more than one woman though who were not succesfull and for the most part it was because they were uninformed on breastfeeding and how long it took your milk to come in and on how it was not easy at first, they got frustrated and gave up.  Having that free sample from the hospital was just too tempting and they eventually gave into that temptation.

The bill of rights  as it is written now, not only protects a nursing mother from prosecution and will make it so a private location like a restaraunt or store can not force a mother to breastfeed in a place like a bathroom but it also acknowledges the fact that breastfeeding is best.  I can only hope that this is a much needed step forward to unsexualize the act of breastfeeding and make it possible for every woman who choses to breastfeed do so comfortably in a safe and sanitary location.