More than 150 mothers and supporters of breast-feeding will join thousands around the world Saturday to celebrate the start of World Breastfeeding Week. A local march beginning at Northwest Plaza will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion, and Support of Breast Feeding, which recognizes the importance of breast-feeding to infant health. The event is designed to promote breast-feeding as a right that should be protected and respected. When women breast-feed in public, it's not as widely embraced as I would hope it would be. You wouldn't eat your lunch in a restroom, but sometimes breast-feeding mothers are asked to have their babies eat their lunch in restrooms.
Some moms quit early because of the stigmas.
Other states, such as Oregon and Iowa, allow breast-feeding moms to be exempt from jury duty, and Hawaii, Tennessee, and Minnesota require employers to accommodate nursing mothers who return to work. The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes breast-feeding as the optimal form of nutrition for infants. Extensive research has shown advantages to infants, mothers, families, and society, including immunological, developmental, economic, and environmental benefits, according to the academy. A German study even found that breast-fed babies have a lower likelihood of becoming obese as children. And it is equally beneficial for moms.