Fairness, Freedom... and Equality: Breastfeeding Picnic 2010

As the new coalition Government settles down at Westminster, and gets to work bringing in the joint agenda of Freedom, Fairness and Responsibility... we'd like to ask David Cameron and Nick Clegg to consider the babies in England & Wales, and Northern Ireland..  They don't have much to be responsible about, in their young lives... but they would very much like some freedom and fairness of their own.  Simply, they'd like equality with the babies in Scotland: they'd like to be protected from harassment when they feed.

They are protected in Scotland.  Scotland has a Breastfeeding Bill, which protects the right of any child who is in a public space where that child has a right to be, to feed uninterrupted on milk: breast or from a bottle.  Any mother, father, care-giver, can feed a hungry child milk in Scotland, anywhere the child has a right to be.  If someone tries to stop the feed - the police can be called, and the person trying to stop the milk feed, can be charged and fined.

In England and Wales, and Northern Ireland, no such protection exists.

If this fair, David?  Is that freedom, Nick?  Is that encouraging and supporting individual and social responsibility?  That you can be thrown out of a public park, in England, for feeding your hungry baby, but not in Scotland?  That a baby can get hungry without fear, in Scotland, but not anywhere else in the United Kingdom?  That if a breastfeeding baby is asked to leave a cafe in Belfast, in Cardiff, in London... the mother must stop the feed and she must leave.  But if she's asked in Edinburgh, she can call the police and they will come and deal with the moron trying to stop her feeding a hungry, crying baby?

In the current financial crisis, the coalition has stated its first priority is to reduce the deficit and restore economic growth.  Protecting mothers who are breastfeeding, will directly support these aims.  Lack of breastfeeding costs the NHS millions of pounds every year: 5 times more formula fed babies are hospitalised every year, for severe stomach infections, than breastfed ones.  Babies who are formula fed, get sicker more often.  They have higher rates of many minor, and some quite serious, illnesses.  Formula fed babies have higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and apnoea as adults.  On average, a formula fed baby has 5 IQ points less than it would have had, if it had been fed normally: at the breast.  Formula feeding costs society, and parents, a great deal of money.  Money spent on formula, is money handed over to multi-national conglomerates, such as Nestle and Danone, who are clearly exploiting the poorest mothers and babies on the planet, and breaching Code around the world, endlessly.

Formula feeding is a risk to the health of the baby, and the mother.

Yet it is welcome anywhere.  Whilst breastfeeding, which supplies the basic building blocks of human life to human babies.... is rejected and taboo.  This is not freedom.  It is not fair.  It is not responsible.

It will not build a strong and fair society: this inequality.  The issue is not even the harm that formula feeding will do financially, although that's important to signal, in the current climate.  The issue is not breastfeeding, versus formula: it never has been.  All mothers may choose not to breastfeed their baby: that is their right.  It is their breasts: they choose who has access to them.  It's not even about the mother: it's about the baby.  All hungry babies have a right... to be fed.  There and then.  Formula or bottle.  Mother or father.  It doesn't matter.

What does matter.. is that a baby is hungry.  Hungry babies get fed: end of.  Well, in Scotland, anyway.

And it's not just the newborn, for whom hunger is a sharp knife piercing their flesh.  Breastfeeding is a total comfort system, for the young of all mammals.  As well as food and drink, it is safety, warmth and comfort.  It is a salve for aches, pains and fears.  A child may have fallen and knocked themselves: they may be in pain.  They may want soothing and comfort.  They may want cuddled and to suckle themselves out of their distress.  Every mother wishes to comfort and console an injured child... but the mother of the breastfeeding child, unless she is in Scotland, can often feel too intimidated to comfort the child.  They do not wish to be attacked, belittled or ejected from the premises, for offering their breast to their crying child: they wish to feel safe from abuse.

Protecting hungry babies... is about fairness, it's about freedom, and it's about responsibility.  Our responsibility, to the most vulnerable amongst us.  Our responsibility, to the mothers who are breastfeeding, and who feel pressured to stop, pressured to hide, pressured to feed their babies in toilet stalls.  No one should be fed in a toilet stall, least of all a newborn.  No mother should feel that she might be attacked, or interfered with, when giving food and comfort to her child.  What's a right to be protected in Scotland, is a right to be protected in England & Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Fairness, Freedom... and Equality

...for all UK babies...

Breastfeeding Picnic 2010

Victoria Tower Gardens

Westminster

Monday July 19th, 2010

Noon until 3pm

Bring your baby, your children, a picnic, and Invite Your MP.

Hopefully, it's time for change....

A word about inviting MPs.....

An MP represents their constituents.  This is regardless of their party politics, or any other role they have in Government.  Your MP is duty, and honour, bound, to represent your views in Parliament.  Invitation to events like the Breastfeeding Picnic, need to come from a constituent, in order for the MP to take it seriously. Not a letter to David Cameron, or to Nick Clegg.  But to your MP.  This is particularly important if David Cameron of Nick Clegg is your MP.  If they are, please invite them NOW to the Westminster event: they will not respond to an invite from anyone not in their constituency.

Parliament works on the merits of the individual MPs in the parties.  Even if you have an MP you don't like, or who is not the MP you would have chosen... please invite them.  Especially if they are a new MP, joining the House for the first time this session.  The timing of the picnic is for the last few days of the Summer sitting.  There will be a lot of 'new' MPs who will be anxious to meet their constituents, and to hear their views.  Write to them, invite them, speak up for the rights of babies in the UK.

If they are not going to be in Westminster that day, see if they can attend a local picnic.  That's the whole point of local picnics, to make the point that this is about the whole of the UK.

We know from previous picnics, that many of you hesitate to write your own letters.  So we offer the following outline, for you to consider.  But please remember that your words, will hold more weight, than an obvious 'stock' letter.  Use the letter by all means, if you really can't face the thought of writing one yourself... but your own words, in your own style, allows your MP to respond to you.  Give it a try!  :-)

In order to find your MP, hit this link, put in your postcode, and the UK Parliament search engine will do the rest.  If you then hit on your MP's name, contact details will come up, including a hit link on their eddress.

-o0o-

Dear .....

As a constituent, I'd like to invite you to the Annual Breastfeeding Picnic, in Westminster on Monday July 19th, 2010.  This year's event is being run under the banner - Fairness, Freedom and... Equality - as mothers once more ask that the babies of England & Wales, and Northern Ireland, have the same legal protection to have a milk feed as they do in Scotland.  The previous Government have ignored the inequality faced by hungry babies in England & Wales, and Northern Ireland, for too long. The nonsense that is clause 17 of the Equalities Bill, only proves to show how little the previous Government listened to mothers on this issue.  Mothers are hoping that the coalition will see the financial sense in affording hungry babies throughout the UK, the same rights as in Scotland.  The picnic is being held in Victoria Tower Gardens, adjacent to the Palace of Westminster, from noon until 3pm.  Please come and meet mothers and babies and children, and see how needed a Breastfeeding Bill is.  If a member of the public approaches a breastfeeding baby and mother in the park whilst you are there, and demands they stop what they are doing... there is no legal protection in place to protect the baby's right to food.  Why should the baby be protected in Scotland, and not right outside the Houses of Parliament?

Looking forward to your early reply....

Ben, Kerry and Mark

"No news, is good news."

Slowly but surely...

.. the world gets the message...


From the horror of this:

"This poor mama had been fully breastfeeding her 4 month old when she reported that she had been raped. While in a police station the baby was taken from her (this was probably appropriate while the mother was interviewed etc). However, the mother who was traumatised and thought her baby had been taken off her attempted suicide whilst in the police station. This is how she became a psychiatric inpatient.  Sadly,  officials didn’t organise access of baby to mother so breastfeeding could continue: in 5 days the baby was taken to the mother only once"


..to this...

"The outcome
After many phone calls (only to discover there wasn’t a single bed available in any public mother baby unit), a full day of negotiations and some help from two wonderful paediatricians (thankyou Gillian Opie and Cathy McAdam -it certainly helps to know people in high places!) as well as information provided by other professionals who are also concerned about legal separations of breastfeeding dyads (thankyou Karleen Gribble) this baby has been admitted as a boarder in the paediatric ward in the hospital where the mother is being treated. The mother is ecstatic and, for now at least, she can enjoy holding her baby close as she nourishes her child with liquid love from her own heart, through her breasts. "

Well done Pinky McKay!  See the full story here.

We're wining ladies.. one tiny baby step at a time...

Hey Breastfeeders, Facebook Is Obscene...

I suppose, it was inevitable. Facebook starts deleting breastfeeding images from personal accounts, and then closing accounts ... as breastfeeding images are "pictures of naked women who happen to be breastfeeding."

Mums of breastfeeding babies, who had been posting their own photos in their own photo albums, join together and create a protest group on Facebook. There is also the site that logs what Facebook have deleted, including portraits of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding Jesus.

The Facebook group, incidentally, enjoys massive traffic from lactaphobes, determined to prove that breastfeeding is obscene, attention serving and about Mums getting their jollies from flashing their tits. Every lame argument is posted, and slogged through time and again and time and again. and...

... Facebook decides enough is enough, and warns it will close down the entire protest group... for obscenity and sexual imagery. The Mums who post into this group spend hours dealing with lactaphobes rationally and calmly, as well as give breastfeeding support to Mums in need.

Facebook is once again, acting in cyberspace, in a way totally illegal in real life. Breastfeeding is protected by many laws, in many USA States and other countries. But it's only the computer that's in California, so they can't be pursued by the law! And making a mint out of it too.

*sigh*

Here's the official press release from the group. Go Make Merry. Pass on, send to your local newspapers etc. Propagate Mamas! Also, the back up group is here.

---

PRESS RELEASE

5th February 2010

For immediate release

FACEBOOK TO BAN BREASTFEEDING ADVOCACY GROUP FOR "OBSCENITY"

Lactivist group faces termination from Facebook after embarrassing the social networking site in high profile media awareness campaign last year.

The group of almost 250,000 members faces threats of removal after a media blitz that chastised the social networking site for its draconian policies toward breastfeeding mothers. The campaign, which garnered national and international attention in over 25 languages from various media outlets around the world, was featured on CNN, CBS News and the Dr. Phil show among others. Members believe the current threat is directly related to the embarrassment caused to Facebook’s bosses.

Administrators of the group, "Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is Not Obscene! (Official petition to Facebook)" were told by the social networking site that the group was in violation of copyright infringement policies. When pressed for details by the group’s admin, Facebook responded by changing the accusation to say the group was posting nudity or sexually explicit material and sending harassing messages to members.

Ms. Joseph says she believes the harassment is due to the social networking site being embarrassed that such a large number of people are against their policies of branding breastfeeding photos as "sexually explicit content". "We have no idea what they're talking about and they won't explain the charges," said Gillian Joseph , an admin of the group, living in Edinburgh, Scotland. "We checked our pages but can't see any copyright infringements, and we've certainly sent no harassing messages. Now they're saying it's because we're uploading obscene photos.".

The support and advocacy group, which boasts over 247,000 members from all over the world, wishes to normalize the sight of breastfeeding mothers and children. It currently contains over 4,500 discussion threads on parenting topics, and over 5,700 photos – though some of these have already been removed by Facebook.

"To shut the group down would not only end valuable support, but give a message to the world that breastfeeding babies are somehow obscene. It's just absurd,” said Debra Balcaen, a Winnipeg resident and administrator of the group.

"It is unfortunate and hypocritical that Facebook's administration has targeted this breastfeeding advocacy group for alleged violations when at the same time they happily endorse sexually explicit material from third party applications and paid advertisements."

END

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

Initial emails from Facebook were sent on 2/2/10 to the administrators of the group. All responses were handled by Gill Joseph, and the full email exchange can be provided upon request.

During previous campaigns, articles about the group have featured in The Washington Post and Fox News in the U.S., in The Guardian and The Times in the U.K., and in The Globe and Mail and The Ottawa Citizen in Canada.

The group has administrators in Canada, USA, UK and Australia who can be contacted on request, but main contacts for the media are:

Gill Joseph email: kamagrian@blueyonder.co.uk

phone: +44 7800 987 844 +44 7800 987 844

Stephanie Muir email: babieslovemilk@yahoo.ca

phone: +1 613 761 9109 +1 613 761 9109

Please note that email may be a better first contact choice, as both women are mothers of young children.

Drawing A Family Together...

This is baby Ben, drawn by his father, Mark.

Mark hasn't seen him for a day or two, as he's finding the trek out to the Mother & Baby Unit where Kerry & Ben are, a difficult slog with no money and poor to non-existent public transport. He's had problems getting credit onto his phone, to call her. He's managed to get Kerry a cell phone, that works in Ireland, but so far, there hasn't been enough money for them to connect.

Being a responsible Dad, he's been trying to raise money by his trade - he's an artist. Ireland will welcome him with open arms, I'm sure - they have a wonderful policy on encouraging creatives to contribute to the economy. He's selling the two drawings you see here, on Ebay. You have 6 days and a few hours to snap them up. Every penny goes to the family.

Bid for them here.

Things are moving along, if slowly and somewhat frustratingly. Kerry & Ben arrived at the mother and baby unit on Thursday, and are very happy with the welcome they received. Nursing Matters helped arrange a IBCLC from the local area, to attend to Kerry & Ben that day, but there have been delays in getting into the unit. Understandable, given all the issues.

The IBCLC, whom I can't name as that would reveal the county the family are in, and no one wants them hounded out by the media... has everything needed on standby. Her expertise, a good pump, and all the time and patience required. There have been reports of Kerry's milk coming in as she has been cuddling Ben, and that's excellent. However, getting a baby back to the breast exclusively can be much more challenging than just getting the mother's milk in, so we'll update as soon as Kerry has had professional assessment and support. Hopefully, before the weekend is out. The Irish IBCLCs are fully behind this family, and are networking amongst themselves to make sure this family has everything it needs.

Others have been working like trojans, and the family finally have legal support in Ireland. Two professionals are working pro bono (free of charge) for the family from today. Rather awesome, that thought: they've got this far, just on their own. So much for Kerry being too stupid to have a baby... and not be able to understand legal matters thoroughly.

You see.. they just never believe how fierce Mamas are, and how much they will fight fight fight for their babies.

Faced with not seeing his son... Mark has relented, and will gladly accept your donations. He'll need to pay for accommodation at a local hostel, in order to be near enough to Ben to see him and Kerry. He also needs to keep his phone working for her calls, and to eat. They aren't entitled to anything in Ireland at the moment, and have been living there via charitable support. I'm pretty sure Mark will make sure any monies they get, will be passed back to the charities when he can earn it.

Paypal for them, can go to: acehmidwifefund@hotmail.com

(If you don't know how paypal works, you set up an account that's your email address as the account name, and then you send it to the other account, another email address. If you want them to get the amount you send GIFT it. You can also state what the money is for (lactation support, travel and hostel, phone credit) in an instruction box.

Otherwise... cheques, postal orders and bank transfers to...

Nursing Matters banks at Santander, formally Abbey National.

Nursing Matters Sort Code: 09 01 27 Account Number: 24202431

IBAN: GB26 ABBY 0901 2724 2024 31

Cheques etc made payable to Nursing Matters to:

3 Barnsite Close, Rustington, LITTLEHAMPTON, BN16 3QH (West Sussex, England, UK)

If you wish any of the money to got to Nursing Matters, versus lactation support for Kerry & Ben, versus the other agencies supporting them (who are, for instance, paying their rent) please make that clear.

We've worked out that they need £500 uk, to keep them together and healthy, until the next legal hearing. That's before we add in pump and breast expenses. I'm sure we can do that!

Mark and Kerry are totally overwhelmed by your support.

They thank you from the bottom of their heart.

And from deep in Ben's soul.

facebook group link

Urgent Appeal for Coca-Cola For Disaster Orphans

Urgent donations of coca-cola for orphaned children are being urged by television personality, Clare Buyme-Book, in order to alleviate suffering and disasters by the world's children. Clare, who is not a registered midwife and holds no professional qualifications in breastfeeding support, has been holding media events throughout the country, in order to raise awareness of the nutritional need for coca-cola in the world's poorest.

"What most women don't understand " she said, with tears glistening in her eyes, "is that breastmilk is the equivalent to a glass of coca cola. And unlike powdered infant formula, coca-cola doesn't have salmonella or other nasty bacteria. You don't need clean water to feed coca-cola to a starving child.. and it's readily available throughout the planet. The answer is simple. Where there is disaster: feed babies coca-cola."

The view is not uncontroversial. When asked, Coca-cola itself, put the phone down on us and we were scarily contacted by their lawyers within moments. The lawyers have asked us to make clear that "Coca-cola is a soft drink for adults and contains no nutritional benefits and should not replace breastfeeding." Which we have done. Let's say that again "Coca-cola is a soft drink for adults and should not replace breastfeeding." When asked if this controversy had been good for their publicity, an off the record comment from a senior Coca-cola executive was not printable due to obscenity laws.

Clare dismisses concerns. "Starving orphans need all the sugar and hydration they can get. If the water is contaminated, and they are going to die anyway, surely better to feed them coca-cola anyway? It's not like feeding any baby coca-cola has ever done any harm." When challenged that coca-cola may not be the most reliable source of nutrition for those in emergency, Clare snapped... "For goodness sake, at least the aid workers can have some as it passes through. I'm sure the aid workers need a nice drink to cheer them up as they hand out the cartons of formula and boxes of used shoes. No one thinks twice about asking for donations of formula, at least the coca-cola won't kill any babies." However, when allowed to rant at the microphone for several moments, on the 'breastfeeding mafia' out to ruin her reputation, Ms Buyme-Book softened. A few tears later, she continued...

"The issue is not the coca-cola, really.." she confides "It's the breastmilk. Heaven knows I support breastfeeding, here... have a copy of my book, found at all decent books stores... but honestly, some women just take it too far. They go on about breastmilk as if it's some miracle substance, and quite frankly, I'm fed up of it. Every mother should breastfeed for a few hours if they want to. I'm not against it. But they have to realise the clock is ticking, and when the baby gets older - bam - it's just as good as coca-cola. That's my point, really. At least by seeing coke bottles with rubber teats on them, such mothers soon realise the 'good' they are doing their children."

Ms Buyme-Book then moved on to another car-boot sale to raise more bottles of coke for "Feed the Poor Starving Hungry Babies Of Some Poor Country You've Never Heard Of Until Now"

In other news... Ever Wondered How, With No Registration To Any Professional Health Organisation In The UK & No Breastfeeding Qualifications Of Any Kind... Can I Get Professional Indemnity Insurance For My Celebrity Practice? See next week's programme!

(Above image, copyright Dorothea Lange. Coca-Cola is a trademark to the Coca-cola Company, and reference to them is made for purpose of satire only. ps You get this is a spoof, right? Humour. Joke. Sarcasm. Irony. Satire. No, not satyr, satire. That's a whole different blog...)

Sing A Song of Freedom...

... a pocketful of joy...

Ben & Kerry now re-united at a mother-baby unit.

Kerry has unlimited, unsupervised access.

Mark has unlimited access to the them at the unit, but needs travel money to visit them, as it is an hour away.

Trying to arrange an IBCLC to see them in the unit, asap.

I'll keep you all posted.

EDIT: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1246590/The-woman-told-stupid-baby-boy.html

"Today, Kerry will move into a mother and baby unit where the 17-year-old will be under constant surveillance - but that is undoubtedly the lesser of two evils for the couple, given that they feared they might lose custody of the child they fought so hard to keep."

(Note that unsupervised is different from surveillance. It means that Kerry that care for the baby within the unit and care for Ben, freely, whilst being observed. This is different from not being able to walk about with him, for instance, without another person standing right beside her. They will be observed, 24/7, but Kerry will be free to care for Ben properly.)

EDIT: Qualified IBCLC will see Ben and Kerry later on today. Many thanks to the wonderful IBCLCs in Ireland, who will be working together to ensure Kerry has the support she wants.

Donations to help support Ben & Kerry's lactation needs, can be sent directly to the Nursing Matters bank account. Details in a moment. Money to helps the charities and societies working to support Mark & Kerry and Ben can also be given. Please note that Mark thanks everyone for their suggested donations in helping his travel costs to visits Ben & Kerry, but respectively declines. As the father, he feels it is his responsibility to ensure he pays his own way... to visit his son. He will however accepts donations that support the infrastructure around them, and will pass monies on to the the various agencies and charities.

Nursing Matters banks at Santander, formally Abbey National.

Nursing Matters Sort Code: 09 01 27 Account Number: 24202431

IBAN: GB26 ABBY 0901 2724 2024 31

Cheques etc made payable to Nursing Matters to:

3 Barnsite Close, Rustington, LITTLEHAMPTON, BN16 3QH (West Sussex, England, UK)

If you wish any of the money to got to Nursing Matters, versus lactation support for Kerry & Ben, versus the other agencies supporting them (who are, for instance, paying their rent) please make that clear.