Legislative Findings

I Liheslaturan Guåhan finds that throughout the United States, laws have been enacted to ensure that women have the right to breastfeed children in recognition of the health and economic benefits of breastfeeding. Currently, Guam lacks any laws relative to breastfeeding to address potential obstacles a woman may face when wanting to breastfeed a child. I Liheslatura finds that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) amended Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act

(FLSA)to require employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk. COL10312014 CH. 92A NANA YAN PATGON ACT Employers are also required to provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk. I Liheslatura also finds that in 2011, Surgeon General of the United States Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, released the “Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding” citing health benefits and outlining steps to be taken to remove obstacles that women face when wanting to breastfeed their children. The Centers for Disease Control

(CDC)Breastfeeding Report Card for the U.S. in 2012, showed that breastfeeding increased from 74.6 percent in the 2008 births to 76.9 percent in the 2009 births. However, the CDC also reported that of the 2008 figure only 23.4 percent met the recommended breastfeeding duration of twelve

(12)months, and only 13 percent of infants were exclusively breastfed at the end of six

(6)months, which indicated that women may need more support to continue breastfeeding. Dr. Benjamin’s “Call to Action” identified ways that families, communities, employers and health care professionals can improve breastfeeding rates and increase support for breastfeeding. Recommendations included communities expanding and improving programs that provide mother-to-mother support and peer counseling; healthcare systems ensuring that maternity care practices provide education and counseling on breastfeeding; hospitals becoming more “baby-friendly,” by taking steps like those recommended by the UNICEF/WHO’s BabyFriendly Hospital Initiative; clinicians ensuring that they are trained to properly care for nursing mothers and babies: the promotion of breastfeeding to pregnant patients and ensuring that mothers receive the best advice on how to breastfeed; employers working toward establishing paid maternity leave and high-quality lactation support programs; employers expanding the use of programs that allow nursing mothers to have their babies close by so they can feed them during the day, providing women with break time and private space to express breast milk; and families providing mothers the support and encouragement they need to breastfeed. I Liheslatura further finds that breastfeeding protects babies from infections and illnesses that include diarrhea, ear infections, and pneumonia. Breastfed babies are also less likely to develop asthma, and those who are breastfed for six

(6)months are less likely to become obese. Nursing COL10312014 CH. 92A NANA YAN PATGON ACT mothers also have a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancers and postpartum depression. A study published in the journal Pediatrics estimated that the U.S. would save $13 billion dollars per year in healthcare and other costs if 90 percent of U.S. babies were exclusively breastfed for six

(6)months. Dr. Benjamin also added that, by providing accommodations for nursing women, employers would be able to reduce their company’s healthcare costs and lower their absenteeism and turnover rates.