As of yesterday, it’s state law: “A woman may feed her child by bottle or breast in any place open to the public.” Yes, any place, whether it’s a bus, a restaurant, the lobby of her office building, or the waiting room of the pediatrician’s office.
The measure, approved last year, is the latest in a years-long effort to promote breastfeeding in Rhode Island, which has the lowest breastfeeding initiation rate in New England, 70.9 percent, with only 35.6 percent of mothers breastfeeding exclusively at three months.
Officials are working to raise public awareness of the law, which not only guarantees the right to breastfeed, but also allows women to sue if their rights are violated. Dr. Laura Viehmann, a pediatrician at Mill River Pediatrics in Pawtucket and chair of the Physicians’ Committee for Breastfeeding, explained why the law is important.
PBN: Why is breastfeeding important for babies?
VIEHMANN: It’s the most affordable public health measure, cost-benefit-wise. The only other thing that even comes close is hand-washing. It costs nothing except for the support that the mothers need, because breastfeeding is not seen as normal, and the benefits – decreased risk of hospitalization for the baby in the first year of life, alone, is worth more than $1,000.
I think the benefits of breastfeeding are well known in the United States. People know it helps babies stay healthier, it helps moms recover better. … But we know mothers have an easier time with breastfeeding if they have witnessed breastfeeding, so when I take care of babies whose moms grew up in Africa, it’s much easier than with families from the United States.
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PBN: This law is part of a much bigger, years-long effort to promote breastfeeding, isn’t it?
VIEHMANN: [Changes in the law] are only the most visible things we have done. There are breastfeeding peer counselors in the WIC officers, there’s been a change in hospital practices and policy … and you can see some difference, but it’s in the first few days, not in supporting prolonged breastfeeding. But what’s enough to help people change what they do? … And some women are comfortable breastfeeding in public, and some aren’t. It’s really a personal choice. But babies get hungry, and different families have different expectations about where to bring their babies. Some people bring babies to restaurants, and some stay home for 40 days.
PBN: Given women’s different comfort levels, is it a good idea for business owners to set up breastfeeding lounges and other private spaces for their employees and customers?
VIEHMANN: Let’s think about where places where families are. If you go to Story Land in New Hampshire, they have for a long time had little spaces that are private where people can go with their babies … so it’s not specifically a breastfeeding space, but it can be. If you go to Disneyland in California, you will see a variety of people breastfeeding, because it’s California. If you go to Disney World in Florida, you won’t see it as much. … It’s different for different places. … People are going to do what they’re most comfortable with, but you don’t get more people comfortable with breastfeeding if you continue to closet it.
PBN: I know a lot of women get breast pumps, and if they have a job, they may pump and leave some milk for the baby while they are away. Why is that not a good option when people are going out to public places? Is there a specific benefit to direct breastfeeding?
VIEHMANN: The idea that it’s a reservoir and you fill up the reservoir, like a wine keg, and you empty it when you need it, is completely not physiologic. Most of the breast milk is made on demand, as the baby nurses. Babies in general are better at removing more milk from their mothers, and babies are better at stimulating her hormones to produce more milk for the next time. There are women who pump and put it in bottles, even when they’re available to breastfeed their baby directly, but while there are women who do it successfully, the chances of difficulty are high.
PBN: What do you hope this new law to accomplish?
VIEHMANN: The first and most important thing is that if a woman is asked not to breastfeed or gets the look of disapproval from anyone, she now has the law behind her, to say that what she’s doing is feeding her baby, and feeding babies is protected in public places. For many women, understanding that the legislature and the governor are behind them is empowering, and it makes them feel that they’re valued, and that breastfeeding is valued. How will it impact breastfeeding rates? Only time will tell.
