A national campaign to promote breast-feeding and encourage Americans’ acceptance of it in public places and the workplace seems to be making an impact, a new survey shows, with 64 percent of people polled saying it’s the best way to feed a baby, up from 39 percent in 2003.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health has been promoting exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months of life through a campaign called “Babies Are Born to Be Breastfed,” stressing the much-better health outcomes it produces.
The Rhode Island Department of Health is one of 15 sites participating, and local officials announced the results of an Ad Council poll evaluating the impact of the campaign to help draw attention to the issue and to their own efforts to advance the cause.
In Providence, campaign ads have been posted on billboards and RIPTA buses, aired on several local television stations and displayed in local libraries, first last summer, then again in January. A new wave of ads is coming this month.
In addition, the General Assembly has passed two laws supporting mothers who breast-feed: one protecting them from being charged with disorderly conduct (for exposing themselves), the other requiring workplaces to accommodate the women.
The latter law, signed by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri two summers ago, requires employers to make “a reasonable effort to provide a private, secure and sanitary room or other location in close proximity to the work area, other than a toilet stall,” for an employee to breast-feed or pump her milk. The law also encourages employers to give mothers extra time for this.
Erin Dugan, who is leading the local effort, said Rhode Island has traditionally had lower breast-feeding rates than other states, but they’ve been “steadily increasing” due to public outreach and education. The new legislation has also raised awareness of the issue, she said, and hopefully employers will realize it’s in their best interest to support lactating mothers.
Not only does it give them “greater loyalty from the employee,” Dugan said, but because breast-fed babies are healthier, the mothers will have to take fewer sick days, and health care costs will be lower.
For anyone concerned about others’ potential discomfort, the Ad Council poll might offer some reassurance. A majority of the 1,000 people surveyed said they felt comfortable seeing a woman breast-feed in a park, store or mall – though in an odd twist, more men (69 percent) than women (58 percent) said so.
For more information about local laws and resources, go to www.health.ri.gov/
family/breastfeeding
