This measure would proclaim August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California. The measure would recognize the unique benefits that breastfeeding provides, as specified, and would affirm that Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. The measure would encourage Californians to work together to explore ways to, among other things, improve womens access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings.

This measure would proclaim August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California. The measure would recognize the unique benefits that breastfeeding provides, as specified, and would affirm that Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. The measure would encourage Californians to work together to explore ways to, among other things, improve womens access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings.

This measure would proclaim August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California. The measure would recognize the unique benefits that breastfeeding provides, as specified, and would affirm that the State of California Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. The measure would encourage the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Industrial Relations, the California Breastfeeding Coalition, and other stakeholders Californians to work together to explore ways to, among other things, improve womens access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings.

This measure would proclaim August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California. The measure would recognize the unique benefits that breastfeeding provides, as specified, and would affirm that the State of California should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. The measure would encourage the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Industrial Relations, the California Breastfeeding Coalition, and other stakeholders to work together to explore ways to, among other things, improve womens access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings.

WHEREAS, Breastfeeding is an issue of great importance to women, infants, their families, and their physicians and is, therefore, of interest to the Legislature; and

WHEREAS, The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and the World Health Organization recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of age and continue to be breastfed until 12 months of age or longer as mutually desired; and

WHEREAS, Only 24.8 percent of California infants are still exclusively breastfeeding at six months of age; and

WHEREAS, In January 2011, the United States Surgeon General announced a Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding that identifies barriers to optimal breastfeeding in health care practices, employment, communities, research, public health infrastructure, and social networks, while also recommending methods in which families, communities, employers, and health care professionals could help to eliminate those barriers to improve breastfeeding rates and increase support for breastfeeding; and

WHEREAS, Research shows that human milk and breastfeeding provide advantages to general health, growth, and development while significantly decreasing the risk of a large number of acute and chronic diseases, including, among others, sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, allergies, diabetes, viral and bacterial infections, childhood obesity, childhood leukemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and infant mortality; and

WHEREAS, Mothers who breastfeed have a decreased risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer, postpartum depression, and osteoporosis later in life; and

WHEREAS, The nutrients exclusive to human milk are vital to the growth, development, and maintenance of the human brain and cannot be manufactured; and

WHEREAS, Recent research estimates that upwards of $18.5 billion in health care and premature death-related expenses could be saved each year if 90 percent of women were to meet breastfeeding recommendations; and

WHEREAS, Breastfeeding has positive economic impacts on families by decreasing the need to pay for medical care for a sick infant and by eliminating the need to purchase infant formula; and

WHEREAS, The health benefits to breastfed children and their mothers result in lower health care costs for employers, less employee time off to care for sick children, and higher productivity and employee loyalty; and

WHEREAS, Employers, employees, and society benefit by supporting a mothers decision to breastfeed and by helping to reduce the obstacles to initiating and continuing breastfeeding; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the month of August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature recognizes the unique health, economic, and societal benefits that breastfeeding provides to babies, mothers, families, and the community as a whole and affirms that Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature encourages Californians to work together to explore ways to improve womens access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings, to facilitate increased awareness and education about breastfeeding, to explore and encourage the use of breastfeeding supports, and to improve the availability of effective breastfeeding resources and community support services; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

WHEREAS, Breastfeeding is an issue of great importance to women, infants, their families, and their physicians and is, therefore, of interest to the Legislature; and

WHEREAS, The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and the World Health Organization recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of age and continue to be breastfed until 12 months of age or longer as mutually desired; and

WHEREAS, Only 24.8 percent of California infants are still exclusively breastfeeding at six months of age; and

WHEREAS, In January 2011, the United States Surgeon General announced a Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding that identifies barriers to optimal breastfeeding in health care practices, employment, communities, research, public health infrastructure, and social networks, while also recommending methods in which families, communities, employers, and health care professionals could help to eliminate those barriers to improve breastfeeding rates and increase support for breastfeeding; and

WHEREAS, Research shows that human milk and breastfeeding provide advantages to general health, growth, and development while significantly decreasing the risk of a large number of acute and chronic diseases, including, among others, sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, allergies, diabetes, viral and bacterial infections, childhood obesity, childhood leukemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and infant mortality; and

WHEREAS, Mothers who breastfeed have a decreased risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer, postpartum depression, and osteoporosis later in life; and

WHEREAS, The nutrients exclusive to human milk are vital to the growth, development, and maintenance of the human brain and cannot be manufactured; and

WHEREAS, Recent research estimates that upwards of $18.5 billion in health care and premature death-related expenses could be saved each year if 90 percent of women were to meet breastfeeding recommendations; and

WHEREAS, Breastfeeding has positive economic impacts on families by decreasing the need to pay for medical care for a sick infant and by eliminating the need to purchase infant formula; and

WHEREAS, The health benefits to breastfed children and their mothers result in lower health care costs for employers, less employee time off to care for sick children, and higher productivity and employee loyalty; and

WHEREAS, Employers, employees, and society benefit by supporting a mothers decision to breastfeed and by helping to reduce the obstacles to initiating and continuing breastfeeding; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the month of August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature recognizes the unique health, economic, and societal benefits that breastfeeding provides to babies, mothers, families, and the community as a whole and affirms that Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature encourages Californians to work together to explore ways to improve womens access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings, to facilitate increased awareness and education about breastfeeding, to explore and encourage the use of breastfeeding supports, and to improve the availability of effective breastfeeding resources and community support services; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

WHEREAS, Breastfeeding is an issue of great importance to women, infants, their families, and their physicians and is, therefore, of interest to the Legislature; and

WHEREAS, The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and the World Health Organization recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of age and continue to be breastfed until 12 months of age or longer as mutually desired; and

WHEREAS, Only 24.8 percent of California infants are still exclusively breastfeeding at six months of age; and

WHEREAS, In January 2011, the United States Surgeon General announced a Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding that identifies barriers to optimal breastfeeding in health care practices, employment, communities, research, public health infrastructure, and social networks, while also recommending methods in which families, communities, employers, and health care professionals could help to eliminate those barriers to improve breastfeeding rates and increase support for breastfeeding; and

WHEREAS, Research shows that human milk and breastfeeding provide advantages to general health, growth, and development while significantly decreasing the risk of a large number of acute and chronic diseases, including, among others, sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, allergies, diabetes, viral and bacterial infections, childhood obesity, childhood leukemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and infant mortality; and

WHEREAS, Mothers who breastfeed have a decreased risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer, postpartum depression, and osteoporosis later in life; and

WHEREAS, The nutrients exclusive to human milk are vital to the growth, development, and maintenance of the human brain and cannot be manufactured; and

WHEREAS, Recent research estimates that upwards of $18.5 billion in health care and premature death-related expenses could be saved each year if 90 percent of women were to meet breastfeeding recommendations; and

WHEREAS, Breastfeeding has positive economic impacts on families by decreasing the need to pay for medical care for a sick infant and by eliminating the need to purchase infant formula; and

WHEREAS, The health benefits to breastfed children and their mothers result in lower health care costs for employers, less employee time off to care for sick children, and higher productivity and employee loyalty; and

WHEREAS, Employers, employees, and society benefit by supporting a mothers decision to breastfeed and by helping to reduce the obstacles to initiating and continuing breastfeeding; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the month of August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature recognizes the unique health, economic, and societal benefits that breastfeeding provides to babies, mothers, families, and the community as a whole and affirms that the State of California Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature encourages the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Industrial Relations, the California Breastfeeding Coalition, and other stakeholders Californians to work together to explore ways to improve womens access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings, to facilitate increased awareness and education about breastfeeding, to explore and encourage the use of breastfeeding supports, and to improve the availability of effective breastfeeding resources and community support services; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

WHEREAS, Breastfeeding is an issue of great importance to women, infants, their families, and their physicians and is, therefore, of interest to the Legislature; and

WHEREAS, The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and the World Health Organization recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of age and continue to be breastfed until 12 months of age or longer as mutually desired; and

WHEREAS, Only 24.8 percent of California infants are still exclusively breastfeeding at six months of age; and

WHEREAS, In January 2011, the United States Surgeon General announced a Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding that identifies barriers to optimal breastfeeding in health care practices, employment, communities, research, public health infrastructure, and social networks, while also recommending methods in which families, communities, employers, and health care professionals could help to eliminate those barriers to improve breastfeeding rates and increase support for breastfeeding; and

WHEREAS, Research shows that human milk and breastfeeding provide advantages to general health, growth, and development while significantly decreasing the risk of a large number of acute and chronic diseases, including, among others, sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, allergies, diabetes, viral and bacterial infections, childhood obesity, childhood leukemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and infant mortality; and

WHEREAS, Mothers who breastfeed have a decreased risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer, postpartum depression, and osteoporosis later in life; and

WHEREAS, The nutrients exclusive to human milk are vital to the growth, development, and maintenance of the human brain and cannot be manufactured; and

WHEREAS, Recent research estimates that upwards of $18.5 billion in health care and premature death-related expenses could be saved each year if 90 percent of women were to meet breastfeeding recommendations; and

WHEREAS, Breastfeeding has positive economic impacts on families by decreasing the need to pay for medical care for a sick infant and by eliminating the need to purchase infant formula; and

WHEREAS, The health benefits to breastfed children and their mothers result in lower health care costs for employers, less employee time off to care for sick children, and higher productivity and employee loyalty; and

WHEREAS, Employers, employees, and society benefit by supporting a mothers decision to breastfeed and by helping to reduce the obstacles to initiating and continuing breastfeeding; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the month of August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature recognizes the unique health, economic, and societal benefits that breastfeeding provides to babies, mothers, families, and the community as a whole and affirms that the State of California should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature encourages the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Industrial Relations, the California Breastfeeding Coalition, and other stakeholders to work together to explore ways to improve womens access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings, to facilitate increased awareness and education about breastfeeding, to explore and encourage the use of breastfeeding supports, and to improve the availability of effective breastfeeding resources and community support services; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:ACR 234

Author:(Rubio)

As Amended Ver:August 20, 2018

Majority vote

Original Committee Reference: HEALTH

SUMMARY: Recognizes August 2018 as the Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California and affirms that the State of California should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. Specifically, this resolution:

1. Finds that breastfeeding is of great importance to women, infants, their families, physicians, and the Legislature.
2. Finds that the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians and other organizations recommend that children be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of age and continue to be breastfed until 12 months of age or longer.
3. Finds that in January 2011 the United States Surgeon General announced a "Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding" that identifies barriers to optimal breastfeeding in health care practices, employment, communities, research, public health infrastructure, and social networks, and recommends methods to help families, communities, employers, and health care professionals eliminate barriers and improve breastfeeding rates.
4. Finds that research shows that breastfeeding provides advantages to general health, growth, and development while significantly decreasing the risk of a large number of acute and chronic diseases, including sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, allergies, diabetes, and childhood obesity.
5. Finds that mothers who breastfeed have a decrease risk of breast, uterine, an ovarian cancer, postpartum depression, and osteoporosis later in life, and finds that employers, employees, and society benefit by supporting a mother's decision to breastfeed and by helping to reduce the obstacles to initiating and continuing breastfeeding.
6. Resolves that the Legislature recognizes the unique health, economic, and societal benefits that breastfeeding provides to mothers, children, families, and the community as a whole and affirms that the State of California should to work together to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding be removed.
7. Resolves that the Legislature encourages the State Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the State Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), the California Breastfeeding Coalition (CBC) and others to work together to improve women's access to breastfeeding support services.

The Senate amendments delete references to DHCS, DPH, DIR, CBC, and other stakeholders and instead encourage Californians to work together to improve the availability of effective breastfeeding resources and community support.

FISCAL EFFECT: None

COMMENTS: According to the author, currently only 24.8% of children are exclusively breastfed at six months of age, however studies show great lifelong benefits of breastfeeding such as advantages to general health, growth and development to children and a decreased risk of certain cancers in mothers, among other benefits. The author concludes that this resolution has been put forward in an effort to increase awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding in hopes that more parents will answer this call to action and support and practice breastfeeding.

Both mothers and children benefit from breast milk. Breast milk contains antibodies that protect infants from bacteria and viruses. Breastfed children have fewer ear, respiratory and urinary tract infections, and have diarrhea less often. Infants who are exclusively breastfed tend to need fewer health care visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations resulting in a lower total medical care cost compared to never-breastfed infants.

Breastfeeding also provides long-term preventative effects for the mother, including an earlier return to pre-pregnancy weight and a reduced risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer and osteoporosis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 77% of mothers start breastfeeding immediately after birth, but only about 16% of those moms are breastfeeding exclusively six months later. As a part of the Healthy People 2020 initiative, the national goal is to increase the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies in the early postpartum period to 81.9% by the year 2020.

More than half of states (29, including California) have already met the Healthy People 2020 objective of 81.9% ever breastfeeding. However, despite high initiation rates and continued improvement in breastfeeding duration, most states, including California, are not yet meeting the Healthy People 2020 duration and exclusivity rates.

In 2001, the Legislature passed AB 1025 (Frommer), Chapter 821, Statutes of 2001, which requires employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time and to make reasonable efforts to provide the use of an appropriate room for an employee to express breast milk for the employee's infant child; however the Assembly had implemented the policy five years previously. During the leadership transition in 1996, Speaker Pringle created the New Mother’s Room at the request of Deborah Gonzalez, his policy director, who had given birth to her second daughter on December 31st. Deborah had shared with the Speaker how the lack of private offices made it difficult for new mothers to continue breastfeeding when they returned to work. The room, which is on the Assembly side of the 4th floor in the historic Capitol building, has been available to staff for 21 years.

The California WIC Association (CWA) is the sponsor of this resolution and states that research shows that breastfeeding provides advantages to general health, growth, and development while significantly decreasing the risk of a large number of acute and chronic diseases including sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, allergies, diabetes, and viral and bacterial infections. CWA concludes that it is important to raise public awareness to these issues.

Analysis Prepared by: Lara Flynn / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN: 0004942

 THIRD READING 

Bill No: ACR 234

Author: Rubio (D), et al.

Amended: 8/20/18 in Senate

Vote: 21

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 8/13/18 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018

SOURCE: California WIC Association

DIGEST:

This resolution proclaims August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California.

ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative findings:

1. Breastfeeding is an issue of great importance to women, infants, their families, and their physicians and is, therefore, of interest to the Legislature.
2. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians and other organizations recommend that children be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of age and continue to be breastfed until 12 months of age or longer.
3. In January 2011, the United States Surgeon General announced a "Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding" that identifies barriers to optimal breastfeeding in health care practices, employment, communities, research, public health infrastructure, and social networks, and recommends methods to help families, communities, employers, and health care professionals eliminate barriers and improve breastfeeding rates.
4. Research shows that breastfeeding provides advantages to general health, growth, and development while significantly decreasing the risk of a large number of acute and chronic diseases, including sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, allergies, diabetes, and childhood obesity.
5. Recent research estimates that upwards of $18.5 billion in health care and premature death-related expenses could be saved each year if 90% of women were to meet breastfeeding recommendations.
6. Employers, employees, and society benefit by supporting a mother's decision to breastfeed and by helping to reduce the obstacles to initiating and continuing breastfeeding.

This resolution proclaims August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California; recognizes the unique benefits that breastfeeding provides and affirms that Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed; and encourages Californians to work together to explore ways to, among other things, improve women’s access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings.

Related/Prior Legislation

ACR 113 (Rubio, Resolution Chapter 167, Statutes of 2017) recognized August 2017 as the Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2017 in California; and encouraged Californians to work together to support breastfeeding.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/20/18)

California WIC Association (source)

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/20/18)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “By declaring August as ‘Breastfeeding Awareness Month’ ACR 234 recognizes the unique benefits breastfeeding provides to both a mother and their newborn infant. ACR 234 would also call on the state to continue its strides towards removing the barriers women who breastfeed face in various settings.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 8/13/18

AYES: Acosta, Aguiar-Curry, Travis Allen, Arambula, Baker, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Caballero, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chávez, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Daly, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez Fletcher, Gray, Grayson, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Rivas, Rodriguez, Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Waldron, Weber, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle, Limón, Voepel

Prepared by: Melissa Ward / SFA / (916) 651-1520

8/21/18 19:04:13

**** END ****

Date of Hearing: August 8, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:ACR 234

Author:(Rubio) – As Introduced Ver:May 3, 2018

Urgency: State Mandated Local Program: Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This resolution proclaims August 2018 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California and makes a number of findings recognizing the unique benefits of breastfeeding.

It also encourages the Department of Health Care Services, the California Department of Public Health, the Department of Industrial Relations, the California Breastfeeding Coalition, and other stakeholders to work together to explore ways to improve women’s access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings, to facilitate increased awareness and education about breastfeeding, to explore and encourage the use of breastfeeding supports, and to improve the availability of effective breastfeeding resources and community support services.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Any costs to state departments noted above for collaborating on improvements to breastfeeding support are expected to be minor and absorbable (various funds).

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. This measure is sponsored by the California WIC Association to increase awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding in hopes that more parents will answer this call to action and support and practice breastfeeding.
2. Background. Breastfeeding has a variety of well-documented health benefits to babies and mothers. A majority of states, including California, meet the federal "Healthy People 2020" objective of around 80% of women initiating breastfeeding. However, despite high initiation rates and continued improvement in breastfeeding duration, most states, including California, are not yet meeting the federal goals for duration (how many weeks or months breastfeeding lasts) and exclusivity (whether the infant is exclusively breastfed or also receives infant formula).

Analysis Prepared by: Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 26, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Jim Wood, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:ACR 234

Author:(Rubio) – As Introduced Ver:May 3, 2018

SUBJECT: Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018.

SUMMARY: Recognizes August 2018 as the Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2018 in California and affirms that the State of California should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. Specifically, this resolution:

1. Finds that breastfeeding is of great importance to women, infants, their families, physicians, and the Legislature.
2. Finds that the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians and other organizations recommend that children be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of age and continue to be breastfed until 12 months of age or longer.
3. Finds that in January 2011 the United States Surgeon General announced a "Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding" that identifies barriers to optimal breastfeeding in health care practices, employment, communities, research, public health infrastructure, and social networks, and recommends methods to help families, communities, employers, and health care professionals eliminate barriers and improve breastfeeding rates.
4. Finds that research shows that breastfeeding provides advantages to general health, growth, and development while significantly decreasing the risk of a large number of acute and chronic diseases, including sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, allergies, diabetes, and childhood obesity.
5. Finds that mothers who breastfeed have a decrease risk of breast, uterine, an ovarian cancer, postpartum depression, and osteoporosis later in life.
6. Finds that employers, employees, and society benefit by supporting a mother's decision to breastfeed and by helping to reduce the obstacles to initiating and continuing breastfeeding.
7. Resolves that the Legislature recognizes the unique health, economic, and societal benefits that breastfeeding provides to mothers, children, families, and the community as a whole and affirms that the State of California should to work together to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding be removed.
8. Resolves that the Legislature encourages the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Industrial Relations, the California Breastfeeding Coalition and others to work together to improve women's access to breastfeeding support services.
   
   

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides that a mother may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, where the mother and the child are otherwise authorized to be present.
2. Requires employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time and to make reasonable efforts to provide the use of an appropriate room for an employee to express breast milk for the employee's infant child.
   
3. Requires the DPH to include in its public service campaign the promotion of mothers' breastfeeding their infants and to develop a training course of hospital policies and recommendations that promote exclusive breastfeeding and specify staff for whom this model training is appropriate.

FISCAL EFFECT: This resolution has not yet been analyze by a fiscal committee.

COMMENTS:

1. PURPOSE OF THIS BILL. According to the author, currently only 24.8% of children are exclusively breastfed at six months of age, however studies show great lifelong benefits of breastfeeding such as advantages to general health, growth and development to children and a decreased risk of certain cancers in mothers, among other benefits. The author concludes that this resolution has been put forward in an effort to increase awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding in hopes that more parents will answer this call to action and support and practice breastfeeding.
2. BACKGROUND. Both mothers and children benefit from breast milk. Breast milk contains antibodies that protect infants from bacteria and viruses. Breastfed children have fewer ear, respiratory and urinary tract infections, and have diarrhea less often. Infants who are exclusively breastfed tend to need fewer health care visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations resulting in a lower total medical care cost compared to never-breastfed infants.

Breastfeeding also provides long-term preventative effects for the mother, including an earlier return to pre-pregnancy weight and a reduced risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer and osteoporosis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 77% of mothers start breastfeeding immediately after birth, but only about 16% of those moms are breastfeeding exclusively six months later. As a part of the Healthy People 2020 initiative, the national goal is to increase the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies in the early postpartum period to 81.9% by the year 2020.

More than half of states (29, including California) have already met the Healthy People 2020 objective of 81.9% ever breastfeeding. However, despite high initiation rates and continued improvement in breastfeeding duration, most states, including California, are not yet meeting the Healthy People 2020 duration and exclusivity rates.

In 2001 the Legislature passed AB 1025 (Frommer), Chapter 821, Statutes of 2001, which requires employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time and to make reasonable efforts to provide the use of an appropriate room for an employee to express breast milk for the employee's infant child; however the Assembly had implemented the policy five years previously. During the leadership transition in 1996, Speaker Pringle created the New Mother’s Room at the request of Deborah Gonzalez, his policy director, who had given birth to her second daughter on December 31st. Deborah had shared with the Speaker how the lack of private offices made it difficult for new mothers to continue breastfeeding when they returned to work. The room, which is on the Assembly side of the 4th floor in the historic Capitol building, has been available to staff for 21 years.

1. SUPPORT. The California WIC Association (CWA) is the sponsor of this resolution and states that research shows that breastfeeding provides advantages to general health, growth, and development while significantly decreasing the risk of a large number of acute and chronic diseases including sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, allergies, diabetes, and viral and bacterial infections. CWA concludes that it is important to raise public awareness to these issues.
2. PREVIOUS LEGISLATION.
   1. SB 402 (De Leon), Chapter 666, Statutes of 2013, requires all general acute care hospitals and special hospitals, that have a perinatal unit by January 1, 2025, to adopt the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding,” as adopted by Baby-Friendly USA, per the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, or an alternate process adopted by a health care service plan that includes evidenced-based policies and practices and targeted outcomes, or the Model Hospital Policy Recommendations, as defined.
      
   2. AB 2386 (Allen), Chapter 701, Statutes of 2012, adds breastfeeding and related medical conditions to the definition of ‘sex’ as a protected category for unlawful employment discrimination under state law.
   3. AB 1025 requires employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time and to make reasonable efforts to provide the use of an appropriate room for an employee to express breast milk for the employee's infant child.
   4. AB 157 (Villaraigosa), Chapter 59, Statutes of 1997, provides that notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, where the mother and the child are otherwise authorized to be present.
      

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California WIC Association (sponsor)

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Lara Flynn / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097