1511cf66_all_To_Action_on_Breastfeeding__Topic
[ID] 840 [Interest Areas] Other Areas: postpartum doula [Comment] The barriers to successful breastfeeding in the United States are wide ranging. We lack role models (positive images of successful breastfeeding), appropriate lactation support in our medical institutions, poor access to home birth, and the list goes on. The majority of US mothers cannot rest and establish their milk supply and bond with their babies because they are under such intense pressure. Even before they give birth they anticipate their return to work or worry about how they will manage when their salary and benefits disappear. Many times their carrier track, all they have worked for, is lost when they make the choice of staying home over returning to work after a very short maternity leave. It is really obvious to me as a postpartum caregiver working with new mothers that we are shamefully behind in supporting families when compared to European, Scandinavian and many other countries. I am not a scholar or statistician. The statistics of how the US ranks in maternity leave (paternity leave too) is outline in the film âMotherhood Manifestoâ, a devastating look at how we value motherhood as a nation. Breastfeeding is a job. It is a time consuming job and for many, a challenging job. It a womanâs work and we do not honor women's work and compensate women for this uniquely feminine function that is ideal for nourishing newborns and babies. We need to support (with paid leave and medical benefits) women and their families better in the first year of life after the birth of a child. This will go very far in increasing breastfeeding rates in the USA. Karen Fleischer, Postpartum Doula, Kensington, CA, -- Metta Doula Service [Topic] 
Paid Maternity Leave
Call To Action on Breastfeeding
Topic