Submitted Resolutions

SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

SENATE RESOLUTION 403--RECOGNIZING THE BENEFITS OF BREASTFEEDING, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Mr. DURBIN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

S. Res. 403

Whereas the Surgeon General and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that most babies be exclusively fed with breast milk for the first 6 months of life, and continue on with breast milk through the first year of life;

Whereas studies have shown that children who were breastfed had a 20 percent lower risk of dying in the first year of life than children who were not breastfed;

Whereas promoting breastfeeding can potentially prevent up to 720 postneonatal deaths in the United States each year;

Whereas breast milk provides the right balance of nutrients to help an infant grow into a strong and healthy toddler, improves the chances of infant survival, and helps protect against common childhood illnesses and infections;

Whereas research also suggests that breastfeeding may be protective against chronic diseases such as type I and type II diabetes, leukemia, and obesity;

Whereas breast milk contains important amino acids, only found in natural breast milk, that help an infant's brain develop;

Whereas maternal benefits to breastfeeding include decreased postpartum bleeding, decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and decreased risk of postmenopausal osteoporosis;

Whereas the health advantages for mothers and children of breastfeeding translate into economic benefits for the family, health care system, and workplace;

Whereas breastfeeding more children would reduce medical care costs, decrease spending for public health programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and decrease parental absenteeism;

Whereas breastfeeding more children would have an environmental benefit by reducing trash and plastic waste from formula cans and bottle supplies;

Whereas 1 of the objectives for improving health in Focus Area 16, Maternal, Infant, and Child Health, from Healthy People 2010, is to increase the percentage of mothers who breastfeed to 75 percent in the postpartum period, 50 percent 6 months after birth, and 25 percent 1 year after birth; and

Whereas throughout the United States, mothers have encountered legal and systematic challenges while trying to breastfeed in public and upon returning to work when seeking out adequate places to express milk in the workplace: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) recognizes the unique health, economic, and social benefits breastfeeding affords to children, mothers, and the community at large; and

(2) calls upon States to take steps to protect a mother's right to breastfeed and remove the barriers faced by women who breastfeed.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I speak today to recognize the importance of breastfeeding as a child and maternal health issue. Breastfeeding is widely accepted as the most complete form of nutrition for infants, and it provides an array of benefits for both infants and mothers.

Yet many mothers who choose to breastfeed find themselves in situations where they are discouraged, or even prohibited, from breastfeeding. I submitted a Senate resolution today to recognize the many benefits of breastfeeding and to encourage States to protect the rights of women to feed their children.

My home State of Illinois recently adopted legislation to exempt breastfeeding mothers from the State's public indecency laws. The impetus behind the State initiative came in no small part from a woman named Kasey Madden, a young mother turned advocate after she was asked one too many times not to breastfeed her infant daughter.

Kasey was at her local fitness center one day, exercising to get back into shape after pregnancy but also caring for five-month-old Sadie. Sadie was in the day care center at the gym. At the moment, she was mad, and she was hungry. Kasey picked up the baby and sat down to let her nurse. Imagine how she felt when the gym manager came to her and asked her to leave the child care center, in case anyone there might be offended.

Today, Sadie is a healthy, red-haired, energetic toddler. Kasey knows more than she ever thought she would about how to affect public policy. That fitness center and every place like it in the State of Illinois now must respect the right of women to breastfeed their babies. I am not sure that gym manager realized what he was starting the day he asked Kasey Madden not to breastfeed her baby in the gym's child care center, but I commend Kasey. She recognized the value of breastfeeding--not just for Sadie--but for moms and babies everywhere who are frowned on or even prevented from breastfeeding.

The American Academy of Pediatricians and other organizations affiliated with the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee strongly support the Healthy People 2010 goal to increase the percentage of mothers who breastfeed to 75 percent.

I urge my Colleagues to join me in this Resolution to express the Sense of the Senate acknowledging the exceptional health benefits of breastfeeding and encouraging States to protect and promote a woman's right to breastfeed.

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