Research, legislation back breast-feeding advocates

There was a time when feeding babies formula was considered “scientific,” and mothers who breast-fed their children were looked down upon.

“In the ’60s, my mom said we were a poor family, so she breast-fed me,” said Dr. Pamela Shaw, an associate professor at Kansas University School of Medicine.

Times have changed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics this week released its strongest-ever set of recommendations to encourage breast-feeding. It said breast-fed children face reduced risk of allergies, diseases and other medical conditions.

Lawrence mothers said the report confirmed what they already knew.

“The ability to feed a baby with my body is just amazing,” said Tammy Gulotta, who breast-fed her two children and now promotes the practice to other mothers.

“This milk is made specifically for this child,” Gulotta said. “And there’s the whole nurturing aspect of it — I loved it, I just loved it.”

Such benefits are why Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, last week introduced a bill in the Kansas Legislature mandating that women have the right to breast-feed in public.

“Obviously, from a woman’s perspective, if you’re breast-feeding … it’s not something you can simply drive home” to do, Davis said. “A kid needs to be breast-fed when they need to be breast-fed.”

Tammy Gulotta, mother of Chloe, 2, at left, is an advocate of breast-feeding. She breast-fed Chloe and son Isaac, 4. The American Academy of Pediatrics this week released its strongest-ever set of recommendations to breast-feed.

Only 32 states have laws spelling out that it is legal for mothers to breast-feed in any public place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Kansas is not among them.

Healthier way

The pediatrics academy’s recommendations included urging mothers to sleep close to their babies to facilitate feeding, avoid giving them pacifiers during the early weeks and breast-feed exclusively for six months — no formula, juice or baby food.

The AAP cited evidence that breast-feeding helps prevent certain infectious diseases in infants: ear infections, diarrhea, urinary tract problems and even asthma.

“We know, overall, it’s a healthier way of feeding babies,” said KU’s Shaw. “It’s not rocket science. Why do moms have breast milk? To feed their babies.”

<i>” border=”0″/> 6News video: Breast-feeding stats back Lawrence moms</a><a href=</i>” border=”0″/> Got Kids? blog: The LAC Breastfeeding Debacle Part II (07-14-04)</a></td> </tr> </table> </div> </div> <p>And a growing body of evidence suggests that breast milk can boost a baby’s IQ and help prevent diabetes, obesity, leukemia and other serious diseases. Mothers can also benefit from nursing, the AAP committee concluded; it said they experience a reduced risk of some cancers and bone fractures.</p> <p>The AAP panel concluded that widespread breast-feeding could save this country $3.6 billion annually in health care costs. And infant mortality is 21 percent lower in breast-fed babies.</p> <p>“It’s healthier,” said Lawrence resident Lori Strecker, who breast-fed her two children. “My family has a history of asthma and allergies, and those things are less likely to occur in children who have been breast-fed for long periods of time.”</p> <h3>Commitment</h3> <div class=

Joyce Williams, a lactation consultant at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, displays one of the hospital's breast pumps. New mothers can rent the pumps from LMH.

In order to promote breast-feeding, Lawrence Memorial Hospital last year opened “The Perfect Fit,” a small store within the hospital that sells and rents breast-feeding paraphernalia.

Joyce I. Williams, a nurse and “lactation consultant,” runs the store weekday mornings.

Breast-feeding “takes somebody who’s committed,” she said.

By the time a baby turns 1 month old, just 55 percent of mothers are exclusively breast-feeding, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At 6 months, only 14 percent are, although 36 percent of moms still do some breast-feeding at that time.

Supporters of Davis’ bill hope it makes parents more aware of the advantages of breast-feeding.

“Hopefully when people see a bill that says this is a protected right for a mother and child, they’ll think that this is really important,” Strecker said.

Shaw agreed.

“If we have human babies,” she said, “we should use human milk to feed them.”

— J-W wire services contributed to this report.