Sky News reported today on a survey of more than 1200 British mothers conducted by Mother & Baby magazine. Here are some of the highlights:

• 65% said they would not breastfeed in public because they were worried about people looking at them.
• 60% said they do not think the UK is a breastfeeding-friendly country.
• 35% claimed they were forced to feed their baby in a toilet.
• 65% said they would be more likely to breastfeed in public if societal attitudes changed.
• 54% said they had been asked to leave a restaurant or cafe for breastfeeding.

I just couldn’t help myself: I had to look up another news article about the Oregon woman who was persecuted for breastfeeding her 8 month old baby in the kiddie pool. UB reports: A drink at the pool stirs conflict More on Poolside Breastfeeding Debate Pt.2

The Eastern Oregonian reports today on a woman who was harassed for breastfeeding her 8 month old baby while babysitting her 2 year old and sitting in the shallow end of the kiddie pool.

First she was asked to sit in a locker room to feed her baby, and then the excuse was made that nursing would somehow violate a law that says no food or drinks within 4 feet of the pool.

Manager Shelton, Come on! Use your head! She brought her breasts, not food or drinks. You’d have to ban all lactating women from swimming at all with a stance like that. After all, they can’t be in the pool with a food product inside their swimsuits, can they? I roll my eyes in disgust at this thinly veiled hypocrisy.

Many mothers find that they have a freezer full of breast milk after a year or two of breastfeeding and pumping. Most of the time, it just doesn’t feel right to waste all that precious, life giving food, even if there’s too much to give it all to the baby. So what can be done? More on Milk Sharing VS Milk Banks

When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, Congress intended to include breastfeeding and expressing breast milk as protected conduct under the amendment. Unfortunately, some courts have not recognized breastfeeding and expressing breast milk as covered under the act, so a bill has been introduced to clarify Congress’ intent: the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2007 (H.R. 2236).

H.R. 2236 will accomplish the following:

1. It will amend Title VII, Section 701(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include “lactation” as defined as “feeding of a child directly from the breast or the expressing of milk from the breast.”
2. It will provide for tax credits for employers to provide an appropriate environment for mothers to breastfeed or express breast milk at work.
3. It will give the Secretary of Health and Human Services authority to create a performance standard for breast pumps and identify pumps appropriate for use on a regular basis in a place of employment.
4. It will expand the definition of medical care under section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include qualified breastfeeding equipment and services, like breast pumps and lactation consultants.

The expansion of the definition of medical care in the Internal Revenue Code will allow women to use funds in their Medical Savings Accounts to pay for breastfeeding equipment and services without incurring a tax on the withdrawal.

By expressing (no pun intended) your support for this bill, you can help it move forward to become law. What you can do is contact your representative by phone or by letter and ask her to please co-sponsor the Breastfeeding Promotion Act (H.R. 2236). The bill was sponsored by Rep. Carol B. Maloney, N.Y., and it currently has 25 co-sponsors, among them may be your representative who could use your support.

To learn more about the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, go to the Library of Congress website and enter H.R. 2236 into the bill search engine. From there you can read the bill and see its status and co-sponsors.