She would have given up on breastfeeding
Posted August 6th, 2009 by Katie BethellI was amazed when a friend of mine told me that it took about a month for her and her first baby to figure out how to breastfeed. (Doesn’t breastfeeding just…happen?) But she explained to me that it is actually a skill that moms and babies have to figure out. My friend was dedicated to breastfeeding exclusively for the 6 months recommended by doctors, but she shared with me that, “If I hadn’t had time off work, I probably would have given up.”
Today 51% of new mothers have no paid leave of any kind, yet the majority of mothers with infants are in the labor force. This means that many moms don’t have a realistic choice to breastfeed. Supporting breastfeeding and instituting comprehensive Paid Family Leave policies go hand in hand.
Sign the petition today! We need Paid Family Leave to make sure moms can have the option to breastfeed and to ensure healthier families and babies!
Our leaders need to hear from us now that Paid Family Leave and breastfeeding are critical components of families’ well-being, economic security, and health. With your signature, we’ll make sure every member of Congress knows how many people care about family leave and its impact on breastfeeding. And, we’ll also deliver your signatures and comments directly, in person, to key Congressional leaders who have the power to move Paid Family Leave policy forward. Together, we can make sure they keep the health of children and families front and center in all that they do.
Why do we need paid family leave to support breastfeeding?
A number of studies have shown that maternity leave has a positive impact on how long women breastfeed.[1] This is important because major medical authorities recommend that infants be exclusively breastfed for their first six months because of significant health benefits for both mother and child. But the U.S. is one of only four countries in the world without national paid family leave policies, an omission that sets up our families for failure. Despite the government’s Healthy People 2010 breastfeeding goals, only 13.6% of U.S. infants are exclusively breastfeeding and only 43% are breastfeeding at all at six months of age.
Breastfeeding expert and MomsRising blogger Dr. Jerry Calnen argues, “If we are serious about improving our breastfeeding rates, a national paid maternity leave policy will be absolutely necessary.” Other momsrising bloggers have made excellent discussions of this issue as well, including; AmberStrocel, Morra Aarons-Mele, Nanette Fondas, Melissa Bartick, Bettina Forbes, and Alison Stuebe.
In addition to supporting breastfeeding, paid family leave combats poverty, gives children a healthy start, lowers infant mortality, and lowers the wage gap between women and men by providing structural support to balance work and family life [2]. In the U.S., only 49% of mothers are able to cobble together paid leave following childbirth by using sick days, vacation days, disability leave, and maternity leave. And 51% of new mothers lack any paid leave — so some take unpaid leave, some quit, some even lose their jobs.No wonder having a baby is a leading cause of “poverty spells” in our nation!
Paid family leave can help give kids a healthier start and give families the economic security they need to stay out of poverty at a critical time. Join me in educating members of Congress about the important connection between breastfeeding and paid leave. The limited, patchwork system we have in place now just isn’t cutting it for families.
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Footnotes
1. Guendelman, Sylvia; Lang Kosa, Jessica; Pearl, Michelle; Graham, Steve; Goodman, Julia;& Kharrazi, Martin. (2009). Juggling work and breastfeeding: effects of maternity leave and occupational characteristics. Pediatrics, 123, e38-e46
2. Jane Waldfogel, “Understanding the ‘Family Gap’ in Pay for Women with Children,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 12, no. 1 (1998), 137-156
24 Comments
August 25, 2010 at 7:01 am by FlowersOur leaders need to hear from us now that Paid Family Leave and breastfeeding are critical components of families. Thanks for sharing such an excellent information.
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August 19, 2009 at 12:07 am by dydrinderelveyeh right.. great post, Thank You
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August 8, 2009 at 8:15 am by Debt Settlement Programcomplex post. upright one unimportant where I contest with it. I am emailing you in detail.
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August 7, 2009 at 11:46 pm by Laura BuildsBreastfeeding is too important to give up on.
Laura
Hsa
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August 7, 2009 at 11:16 pm by Beth ZI just did a little “follow the money” investigation on MomsRising. I knew you had ties to ACORN, but I did not know that you are “children” of Wes Boyd and Joan Blades, the founders of MoveOn.org.
Very interesting. It’s good to know how my tax dollars are being spent.
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Aaron Reply:
August 9th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
@Beth Z, MomsRising is a non-profit organization supported by private, individual donations – not tax dollars.
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Cecili Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
@Beth Z, I refuse to believe that you legitimately viewed any information on this site without realizing that MomsRising is connected to Moveon. The book that started it all was co-authored by Joan Blades. There is no effort to hide the connection. In fact, I’d imagine that MomsRising is damned proud of it – as they should be!
But, I’d also like to address your concerns regarding on a safety net to enable breastfeeding. Your tax dollars are already paying the price for not allowing mothers adequate leave time following pregnancy. You are paying it in the form of unemployment insurance for mothers who lose their jobs, medicaid for those same mothers and their children, and later other medical coverage for a sicker society due to lack of breastfeeding. Think of all the tax dollars we could save in productivity, AND fewer unemployment, medicaid, and sCHIP enrollees by providing humane maternity coverage. And, by the way, FMLA was a hard fought battle won by people just like MomsRising to ensure that women and other people trying to care for their families had protection from losing their jobs. So when you refer to it as the coverage option which women should be using, as you did below, please remember that is was brought to by the same revolutionaries you are criticizing.
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Beth Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
@Cecili, Why do you assume I found the info here on your web site? Google is my friend:) The info was found in just a few clicks.
You can go ahead and be proud of your uber rich socialist founder. I just think people should be aware of who holds the Momsrising reins.
Another assumption you make is that I support FMLA when in fact I don’t. I don’t support ANY of the entitlement programs you listed. Can you even imagine the personal wealth we would all have if we weren’t forced to ante up for the layers and layers of beaurocracy the government forces down our throats!? Everyone would be able to plan a budget and allow for time taken off.
Maybe women (who want to) could actually stay home and raise excellent children because their husbands make enough. There’s a thought!
I don’t support the idea of forcing an employer to pay any employee for work not preformed. Is that really so kooky? This is still America where we work for what we earn. I ain’t down with the whole redisribution of wealth thang.
I know, I know. I’m a cold hearted bitch for wanting pople to be responsible for themselves and their children. God knows we aren’t capable of doing it on our own. {sarc}
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