Charleston Daily Mail

After spending three hours at a car show last year at the Civic Center, Jennifer Bryant's 5-month-old daughter grew hungry.

So Bryant, a Sharples resident, found a chair, scooted it behind a column and breastfed her daughter.

But a female security guard told her several people had complained and she was to "move on," perhaps to the bathroom.

"You don't eat in the bathroom, I don't eat in the bathroom and neither will my daughter," Bryant told the guard.

Bryant wants to protect other women from such embarrassment and humiliation.

So several lawmakers have agreed to advocate for legislation that would allow women to feed their babies in any location where the mother and child otherwise would be authorized to be.

Corey Palumbo, whose wife currently is breastfeeding their son, Mario, has signed on as one of the sponsors of the bill, to be introduced today.

"A lot of women feel they have the right to feed their babies wherever they want to be," Palumbo said. "I agree with that. It's something we want to encourage as opposed to discourage."

Other sponsors include Sen. Dan Foster and Delegates Greg Butcher, Bonnie Brown and Sharon Spencer, all Democrats.

South Charleston resident Allison Adler said she's hoping the proposed law would protect women who often suffer from discrimination.

"Bottle-feeding moms don't face this," Adler said. "We're not asking for permission to expose ourselves."

The American Academy of Pediatricians recommends that mothers breastfeed their babies the first two years of their lives.

Adler said breast milk helps protect babies against several diseases, including ear and respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome, allergies, intestinal disorders, diabetes, childhood cancers, meningitis and more. It also helps provide lifetime protection against Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, some lymphomas, insulin-dependent diabetes and breast and ovarian cancer.

At least 20 local organizations support the "Child's Right to Nurse Act," including the state chapters of the National Association of Social Workers and American Academy of Pediatrics and the West Virginia State Medical Association and the West Virginia Hospital Association.

"It's better for kids, and it's a significant money-saver," Palumbo said.

Contact Therese Smith Cox at 348-4874.
 

MetroNews

MetroNews Talkline
Charleston

Women throughout the state may soon be able to breast feed wherever and whenever the need strikes. The House of Delegates is considering a bill that would allow mothers to nurse in most public places.

Advocate Amy Weintraub is among those supporting the legislation. Speaking as a guest on MetroNews Talkline Wednesday, she says breast-feeding has become a real issue in the state.

"Women are being asked to leave places even if they're nursing very discreetly. They've been asked to stop nursing or leave the place."

Jennifer Bryant is one of several women who've been asked to leave a facility for breast-feeding in public. She says she was nursing her daughter in the Charleston Civic Center when a security guard asked her to leave.

"She'd been nursing for about five minutes when a security guard, a female security guard, came over and said that people were offended and that I was going to have to leave. And she said you need to go somewhere else, I said where would you have me go and she said the restroom. And I said no, I don't eat in a bathroom and neither do you, so I'm not going in there to feed my child."

The Child's Right to Nurse bill would allow mothers to nurse their babies wherever the two are. Weintraub says this is a matter of a child's well being.

"Children deserve the right to eat when they need to, babies need to eat. Mothers might like a private, quiet place to nurse but it's not always possible."

Currently 32 states have passed legislation permitting women to nurse in public. Members of the House of Delegates are now considering the bill.

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