Congressman fed up that babies can't nurse in public Tuesday, February 4, 2003,

By GAIL KOCH,
gkoch@marion.gannet.com,
"When the time comes for Sarah Nickell to breast-feed her 4 1/2 -month-old daughter, Madeline, in public, the first-time mom finds herself breaking into a sweat.

"I have this feeling of uncertainty whenever I go out in public," Nickell, 27, said. "You just never know when it's going to be acceptable or not."

Nickell's panic attacks may soon be put to rest with the help of a state lawmaker who is pushing a bill through the House to allow women to breast-feed in public." [I'm torn. We shouldn't need laws like this. On the other hand, this bill will amend the indecency law on the books that states women who breastfeed in public can be charged. - JC]

Freshman Rep. David Orentlicher, D-Indianapolis, said he sponsored the bill after hearing women tell him they felt uncomfortable nursing their children outside of the home.

"It's hard for these mothers because, sometimes, they need to feed every hour and they can't always be in their homes to do it," Orentlicher said. "This is a way to let people know breast-feeding in public is acceptable, it's what's best for the child and should be allowed."

Orentlicher's bill proposes an amendment to the state's current public indecency bill, which states that women who breast-feed in public may face disciplinary action for appearing in a state of nudity.

15 reasons you might be fat

Elaine O'Connor,
The Ottawa Citizen,

Tuesday, February 04, 2003 [ Check out reason number 8! - JC]


"...8. You're fat because you were bottle-fed.

Strange, but seemingly true. The longer babies are breast fed, the less likely they are to grow into fat children, according to a 1999 German study published in the British Medical Journal. Infants fed breast milk until three to five months old were more than a third less likely to be obese by the time they started school than babies fed formula from birth. The longer babies breast fed, the less likely they were to start school as chubby children...."

Moderate Exercise Doesn't Alter Breast Milk: Study
Tue Feb 4, 2:41 PM ET, Yahoo News,

By Jacqueline Stenson,

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)

"Despite some concerns that exercise might change the quality of a woman's breast milk, new study findings indicate that moderate physical activity has no such effect.

A 1997 report found that exercise could lower the amount of immune-boosting proteins that a mother passes on to her baby through breast milk within the hour after the physical activity. But that study involved women who exercised to exhaustion.

"Many doctors are concerned that new moms are exercising strenuously and this will compromise their breast milk," study author Dr. Cheryl Lovelady, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, told Reuters Health. "But we found no effect for moderate exercise."
"

ABC12.com: No food, drink, breastfeeding
Waterford Twp, February 4, 2003, WJRT-TV, ABC12.com
"Michigan and federal laws give nursing mothers the right to breast feed in public. That doesn't mean their right always is respected.

Molly Bascom-Keller of Oak Park says a guard harassed and yelled at her during a visit to Summit Place Mall in Oakland County. The mall says it has a no-food, no-drink rule for the play area, and breast milk is a drink." [ A more detailed article can be found here What action can women take when these laws are not respected? - JC]