[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 34 (Thursday, March 16, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2376-S2377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

 SENATE RESOLUTION 403--RECOGNIZING THE BENEFITS OF BREASTFEEDING, AND 
                           FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. DURBIN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 403

       Whereas the Surgeon General and the American Academy of 
     Pediatrics recommend that most babies be exclusively fed with 
     breast milk for the first 6 months of life, and continue on 
     with breast milk through the first year of life;
       Whereas studies have shown that children who were breastfed 
     had a 20 percent lower risk of dying in the first year of 
     life than children who were not breastfed;
       Whereas promoting breastfeeding can potentially prevent up 
     to 720 postneonatal deaths in the United States each year;
       Whereas breast milk provides the right balance of nutrients 
     to help an infant grow into a strong and healthy toddler, 
     improves the chances of infant survival, and helps protect 
     against common childhood illnesses and infections;
       Whereas research also suggests that breastfeeding may be 
     protective against chronic diseases such as type I and type 
     II diabetes, leukemia, and obesity;
       Whereas breast milk contains important amino acids, only 
     found in natural breast milk, that help an infant's brain 
     develop;
       Whereas maternal benefits to breastfeeding include 
     decreased postpartum bleeding, decreased risk of breast and 
     ovarian cancer, and decreased risk of postmenopausal 
     osteoporosis;
       Whereas the health advantages for mothers and children of 
     breastfeeding translate into economic benefits for the 
     family, health care system, and workplace;
       Whereas breastfeeding more children would reduce medical 
     care costs, decrease spending for public health programs such 
     as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 
     Infants, and Children (WIC), and decrease parental 
     absenteeism;
       Whereas breastfeeding more children would have an 
     environmental benefit by reducing trash and plastic waste 
     from formula cans and bottle supplies;
       Whereas 1 of the objectives for improving health in Focus 
     Area 16, Maternal, Infant, and Child Health, from Healthy 
     People 2010, is to increase the percentage of mothers who 
     breastfeed to 75 percent in the postpartum period, 50 percent 
     6 months after birth, and 25 percent 1 year after birth; and
       Whereas throughout the United States, mothers have 
     encountered legal and systematic challenges while trying to 
     breastfeed in public and upon returning to work when seeking 
     out adequate places to express milk in the workplace: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the unique health, economic, and social 
     benefits breastfeeding affords to children, mothers, and the 
     community at large; and
       (2) calls upon States to take steps to protect a mother's 
     right to breastfeed and remove the barriers faced by women 
     who breastfeed.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I speak today to recognize the importance 
of breastfeeding as a child and maternal health issue. Breastfeeding is 
widely accepted as the most complete form of nutrition for infants, and 
it provides an array of benefits for both infants and mothers.
  Yet many mothers who choose to breastfeed find themselves in 
situations where they are discouraged, or even prohibited, from 
breastfeeding. I submitted a Senate resolution today to recognize the 
many benefits of breastfeeding and to encourage States to protect the 
rights of women to feed their children.
  My home State of Illinois recently adopted legislation to exempt 
breastfeeding mothers from the State's public indecency laws. The 
impetus behind the State initiative came in no small part from a woman 
named Kasey Madden, a young mother turned advocate after she was asked 
one too many times not to breastfeed her infant daughter.
  Kasey was at her local fitness center one day, exercising to get back 
into shape after pregnancy but also caring

[[Page S2377]]

for five-month-old Sadie. Sadie was in the day care center at the gym. 
At the moment, she was mad, and she was hungry. Kasey picked up the 
baby and sat down to let her nurse. Imagine how she felt when the gym 
manager came to her and asked her to leave the child care center, in 
case anyone there might be offended.
  Today, Sadie is a healthy, red-haired, energetic toddler. Kasey knows 
more than she ever thought she would about how to affect public policy. 
That fitness center and every place like it in the State of Illinois 
now must respect the right of women to breastfeed their babies. I am 
not sure that gym manager realized what he was starting the day he 
asked Kasey Madden not to breastfeed her baby in the gym's child care 
center, but I commend Kasey. She recognized the value of 
breastfeeding--not just for Sadie--but for moms and babies everywhere 
who are frowned on or even prevented from breastfeeding.
  The American Academy of Pediatricians and other organizations 
affiliated with the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee strongly support the 
Healthy People 2010 goal to increase the percentage of mothers who 
breastfeed to 75 percent.
  I urge my Colleagues to join me in this Resolution to express the 
Sense of the Senate acknowledging the exceptional health benefits of 
breastfeeding and encouraging States to protect and promote a woman's 
right to breastfeed.

                          ____________________