breastfeeding – Memphis Flyer

Mamava

A lactation pod like this could soon be at the FedExForum

Memphis’ first lactation pod for nursing mothers could be coming to the FedExForum later this year.

The Shelby County Commission will vote later Monday on a resolution to purchase the pod from Mamava, a company that sells free standing lactation pods for mothers to pump or nurse in public.

Mamava strives to “transform the culture of breastfeeding, “making it more optimistic, realistic, accommodating, and inviting for all mamas.”

The approximate $25,000 pod that the county is considering purchasing will provide a safe, secure, non-bathroom location for mothers to pump or nurse.

The pod at the FedExForum would be the first in West Tennessee.

There are more than 450 Mamava pods around the county, including three in Tennessee. There are currently two in Nashville and one in Chattanooga.

Mamava

According to Mamava, Tennessee is a breastfeeding-positive state, meaning there is legislation that protects nursing mothers in the workplace and in other public places.

Employers are required to provide reasonable unpaid break time for mothers to pump each day under the law. Employers are also required to make reasonable efforts to provide a space, other than a toilet stall, for mothers to pump in private.

Under state law, women have the right to breastfeed in any location, public or private, where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be present.” Mothers are also exempt from indecent exposure laws while breastfeeding.

If the commission passes the resolution, the pod will be installed before the start of the Grizzlies’ season this fall, serving as a pilot project.

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The commission’s effort is a part of Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ healthyShelby 19 campaign focusing on dietary, mental, and physical fitness.

The commission cites in the resolution that breastfeeding is a key first step to childhood obesity prevention. The idea is to support Shelby County mothers in breastfeeding in order to benefit the baby’s health and reduce overall healthcare costs.

The resolution is sponsored by Commissioners Tami Sawyer, Reginald Milton, and Brandon Morrison.

“It is exciting to be able to support mothers and babies at FedExForum, one of our busiest attractions.” Morrison said. “Research shows that breastfeeding is not only the healthiest option for infants, but actually saves on future health-related costs for both mother and baby.”

The Shelby County Health Department could also look to install additional pods on other county assets in the future.

Trinity Poole’s tattoo

On Trinity Poole’s bicep, there’s a tattoo of a mother breastfeeding her child in a ring sling. It symbolizes dual passions — breastfeeding and baby wearing.

“I got it because those two things have been a very big part of bonding with my son,” said Poole, 36, who has an 18-month-old son and a daughter due in October. “My first resource was my sister Meredith, who became passionate about nursing in public and breastfeeding rights when she had her youngest daughter. It sparked an interest in me.”

Mayor Jim Strickland recently signed a pledge to make Memphis a more supportive environment for breastfeeding mothers. Immediate steps include a lactation support policy for city offices, which would require designated storage for breast milk in workplace refrigerators and an employee orientation. And eventually, the policy will lead to the opening of lactation rooms at City Hall. Strickland did not respond to a request for comment.

If 90 percent of mothers exclusively breastfed for six months, the United States would save $13 billion and 911 lives per year, a Cambridge Health Alliance found. Though infant mortality stems from widespread issues, breastfeeding is known to lower the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Enter the Shelby County Breastfeeding Coalition, an advocacy group comprised of nurses, certified lactation consultants, breastfeeding peer counselors, dietitians, nutritionists, and, of course, mothers.

“Breastfeeding is important because of the significant health benefits,” said Coalition Chair Allison Stiles, a physician who practices breastfeeding medicine. “There’s less of all types of infections for the baby: less infant mortality, less obesity, less Type 1 and 2 Diabetes. As well as for mom — fewer sick days, lower insurance costs, less breast cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, and less obesity.”

Shelby County reports some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the United States and an infant mortality rate that has long exceeded national numbers. The Centers for Disease Control’s target infant mortality rate is six deaths per 1,000 live births. In 2014, Shelby County’s rate dropped from around 14.9 to 9.2 deaths per 1,000 live births — the lowest in the last 100 years.

Though Tennessee has laws in place to support and protect breastfeeding mothers, the Coalition goes to bat when those laws are violated, Stiles said. They once had a case where a mother was told she couldn’t nurse at a daycare. Another mom was told she couldn’t breastfeed at a downtown courthouse. There’s also a lack of opportunity at the workplace — though Tennessee laws require flexible time for mothers to pump in a private space.

Aside from Papua New Guinea, the U.S. is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t require employers to offer paid maternity leave. Staggering, more so, when considering that mothers supply the primary income for 40 percent of U.S. families with children 18-years-old or younger, the Pew Research Center found.

“Many moms return to work in as little as two weeks,” Stiles said. “It’s hard to see returning to work and pumping. How is a mom who works in the hub, a warehouse, the tarmac, or at McDonald’s going to imagine pumping? [Memphis] needs to be sure all city facilities have lactation access, not just City Hall. … One big area of opportunity is in a more supportive maternity leave policy.”

Meanwhile, the breastfeeding coalition and other advocates are doing all they can to make breastfeeding in public more commonplace. Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women is sponsoring what may turn out to be the largest breastfeeding event in the city this year. On August 6th at Trinity Baptist Church, breastfeeding moms from across the Mid-South will come together for Latch On Memphis, an attempt to break the record for the most mothers simultaneously nursing.