skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Idaho Still a Holdout on Breastfeeding Laws

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 9, 2011   

BOISE, Idaho - Idaho is one of just six states that has yet to put laws on the books to protect a mother's right to breastfeed in private or public locations, or protect her from prosecution under indecency laws. Neither item is on the agenda for the Legislature yet this year, even though U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin said recently that she believes women face too many obstacles and not enough support when it comes to breastfeeding.

Registered Nurse Martha Sears, a breastfeeding expert, highlights the health benefits, as well. She says breastfeeding gives babies nutrients not available in formula, and research has shown breast-fed babies have fewer infections and hospitalizations - resulting in lower medical bills.

"Breastfeeding would change the face of health in this country. It's probably one of the biggest items - is convincing parents how important it is."

A list of breastfeeding laws by state is online at www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14389.

Some studies have disputed the efficacy of breast milk versus formula, saying the health advantages are minimal, but Sears says mothers should at least attempt the process to help support the mother-child bond.

Not every mother can breastfeed, though, and Sears points to options involving banked milk. She says it's true the processing can be expensive, but for sickly or premature babies, it can make a difference.

"Now we have a way to do it that's more modern, but I think it's overlooked."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70 percent of mothers start breastfeeding immediately after their babies are born, but only 20 percent are still breastfeeding six months later.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Environment

play sound

Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…


A study by the advocacy group Inseparable showed one in five adults said at any given time, they consider their mental health to be either 'fair' or 'poor.' (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…

Social Issues

play sound

With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers …

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021