Rep. Carolyn Maloney is going to reintroduce the Breastfeeding Promotion Act to Congress in June. With a change in leadership in both Houses and a White House that is attuned to work/life balance issues, this year we need to push hard for passage! The Breastfeeding Promotion Act will:
* Add breastfeeding mothers in the workplace as a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of
1964
* Provide incentives for employers to have private lactation areas for workers
* Create a performance standard for breastpump equipment
* Create tax deductions for pumping equipment
Breastfeeding lowers healthcare costs in the short term for breastfed babies and in the long term health of mothers who can nurse for longer stretches. Current studies show a 40% reduction in post menopausal breast cancer rates for women who have extended periods of breastfeeding, but rates in this country drop dramatically after 12 weeks. Not coincidentally, I believe, at exactly the same time they have used up their Family Medical Leave Act time.
Supporting this bill supports health care reform as well! Costs associated with newborns and post partum women make up a large chunk of medical expenditures.
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