Introduction
I. (Attention Getter) On The Daily Show with Bill Maher, he jokingly stated, “Breastfeeding is an intimate act and I don’t want to watch strangers performing intimate acts; at least not for free. (McEwan)”
A. Unfortunately, this is the attitude many Americans have about mothers who breastfeed in public. In fact, a survey taken by Babytalk magazine, reflected that 57% of Americans disapprove of public breastfeeding (ABC News).
B. Breastfeeding, the best nutrition a mother can give her child, however, it is criticized so much that moms are giving up and switching to formula.
II. (Establish Controversy/Justify Topic) According to the National Conference of State Legislature, forty-nine states, along with Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands have passed laws allowing moms to breastfeed their babies regardless of whether she is in a private or public location (National Conference of State Legislatures ). However, the controversy surrounding mothers who breastfeed their babies in public calls for every single state to have a law protecting them, including Idaho.
III. (Credibility Statement) My name is Ana Rico-Dumont and I am a strong advocate for mother’s breastfeeding their babies. I, personally, have breastfed all three of my children and know the hard work, sacrifice and support needed to do so successfully.
IV. (Preview/Thesis) Today I will argue that mothers who breastfeed in public should be protected by law in every single state of America.
A. First, breastfeeding benefits the mothers, their babies and society.
B. Secondly, breastfeeding a child is hard work and requires a multifaceted level of support in order to be accomplished successfully.
Transition: To begin, I will argue about why Idaho should pass a state law protecting women who nurse in public by informing you all on the benefits of breastfeeding.
Body
I. [First Constructive Argument] The first reason a law should be passed protecting nursing mothers is because of all of its benefits.
A. Mothers benefit both short-term and long-term from nursing as described in a policy statement, ‘Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk’, by the American Academy of Pediatrics (American Academy of Pediatrics).
1. Some of the short-term benefits include decreased postpartum loss of blood due to the uterus returning to its normal size faster after childbirth. Also, the study conducted on child abuse reflected that mothers that breastfed had a decreased rate of child abuse and neglect in comparison to mothers who did not breastfeed (American Academy of Pediatrics).
2. The long-term effects, range from weight loss to decreased risks of rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and breast/ovarian cancer to name just a few (American Academy of Pediatrics).
B. Infants benefit tremendously from their mothers milk as well.
1. The rates of hospitalization for respiratory tract infections alone are reduced by 72% in their first year of life (American Academy of Pediatrics).
2. The risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome were linked to a 36% percent reduction in strictly breastfed infants (American Academy of Pediatrics).
3. According to the AAP, their calculation reflects that “more than 900 infant lives can be saved per year in the United States if at least 90% of mothers exclusively breastfed for 6 months” (American Academy of Pediatrics).
4. There are many other benefits for babies such as decreased risks of gastrointestinal tract infections, allergic disease, obesity, diabetes, neurodevelopmental issues and the list goes on and on.
C. Breastfeeding also benefits society in multiple ways.
1. First, as previously stated breastfeeding saves lives. More than 900 hundred lives a year, that almost 1,000 babies that can be saved yearly (Office on Women’s Health ).
2. Secondly, breastfeeding saves the United States money. Approximately $2.2 billion dollars could be saved every year by lowering medical care costs because breastfed babies need fewer sick care visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations (Office on Women’s Health ).
3. Next, Breastfeeding helps employers by making a more productive workforce. The less sick infants that we have, the more moms can go to work (Office on Women’s Health ).
4. Lastly, breastfeeding helps our environment. Breast milk is a renewable resource; it does not require any packaging or energy to warm. Formula, on the other hand, creates more trash due to all of its packaging and energy to get it to the right temperature (Office on Women’s Health ).
Transition: As you can see, breastfeeding has tons benefits for everyone. Still, breastfeeding is not an easy task and moms need support to get the job done right.
II. [Second Constructive Argument] Breastfeeding is hard work and requires a multifaceted level of support.
A. A mother is at her baby’s beck and call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; whenever baby gets hungry, mom must feed.
1. This means that wherever mom may be, could be Wal-mart, McDonald’s, the community rec center, wherever…moms must stop what they are doing and feed their babies.
a. For example, let me share a personal experience that occurred about 3 years ago with my youngest baby. On a 5-hour drive to upstate NY where my in-laws live, my 6 month-old baby was hungry and so were my other two children, it was lunch time. So I stopped at a McDonalds, and while my two oldest children ate, so did my little guy.
2. How inconvenient and irrational these babies are you may be thinking, but wait, there’s more to it than that.
a. Women who are breastfeeding will experience engorged breast if they are not able to nurse frequently. What is this engorgement you may ask, BabyCenter.com describes it as “breasts feeling hard, swollen, throbbing, and lumpy” (BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board). From personal experience, I can testify that engorgement is no fun and can simply be prevented by feeding your baby consistently.
3. There is a multifaceted level of support required to make breastfeeding a successful experience.
a. According to the CDC, there are many levels of support starting with the healthcare professionals providing labor and delivery care in both medical care facilities or for those that choose to give birth at home (Center for Disease Control and Prevention).
b. The CDC guide also states that support should come from communities, schools, childcare facilities and work sites (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). For new moms especially, the people around her can have a remarkable influence on her success in breastfeeding.
Transition: We can now understand how beneficial breastfeeding is and how important it is that mothers have the support needed to follow through with it.
III. [Refutation] Opponents ague that breastfeeding is offensive and inappropriate or that women who breastfeed in public are just trying to seduce men. However, these claims are a far reach from reality. Idaho should pass a state law protecting women who need to breastfeed their babies in public because the claims against these women are completely false.
A. [Denial] First, Idaho state law should be protecting those mothers because they are just trying to keep up with their baby’s needs.
1. In fact, womenshealth.gov reports that babies need to be breastfed a minimum of 8 times a day. That means every few hours, day and night, babies need their mother’s milk (Office on Women’s Health ).
B. [Deny Inherancy] Secondly, breastfeeding should be a protected act in Idaho in order to deny those uninformed individuals, the ability to harass mothers nursing in public by claiming offense to such a beneficial act.
1. Babytalk’s editor in chief, Susan Kane, said it best in an interview with ABC News. She said that even though nursing is very time consuming, it is the mother’s job, and everyone around her needs to be supporting her. It’s unfortunate, that “though seventy percent of women try to breastfeed, most stop before they want to because people feel uncomfortable when a woman exposes herself in public (ABC News).”
C. [Impact] Not only should Idaho pass a state law protecting mothers breastfeeding their babies in public, the public should be informed of the benefits in order to support those moms instead of berating them.
Transition: For these reasons, Idaho should pass a state law supporting breastfeeding as soon as possible. There are plenty of lives counting on it.
Conclusion
I. [Restatement/Summary of Main Ideas] Today I have presented my argument on why Idaho should pass a state law protecting women who need to nurse their babies in public.
A. The first reason is because of all of the benefits breastfeeding produces for mothers, their babies and society.
B. The second reason is that breastfeeding takes a lot of hard work and a multifaceted level of support to accomplish successfully.
C. The third reason is that breastfeeding is not an offensive act or ploy to gain attention, it is merely a mother’s best and most natural way of nourishing her child.
II. [Closing Statement] Breastfeeding is a crucial part of raising a healthy child and therefore should be protected by Idaho state law.
Enthymemes
Hypothetical Enthymeme
Major Premise: If a baby is breastfed, then s/he will be healthy.
Minor Premise: Maverik is breastfed.
Conclusion: Maverik is a healthy baby.
Disjunctive Enthymeme
Major Premise: You either breastfeed or formula feed your baby.
Minor Premise: You do not buy formula.
Conclusion: You breastfeed your baby.
Works Cited
ABC News. Breast-Feeding Controversy: The Fight to Nourish in Public. 18 July 2006. 23 October 2016 <http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmericanFamily/story?id=2206291&page=1>.
American Academy of Pediatrics. “Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk.” American Academy of Pediatrics 129.3 (2012).
BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board. Engorged Breasts. 1 April 2015. 22 October 2016 <http://www.babycenter.com/0_engorged-breasts_231.bc>.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “The CDC Guide to Strategies to Support Breastfeeding Mothers and Babies.” 2013. www.cdc.gov. 23 October 2016 <https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/BF-Guide-508.PDF>.
McEwan, Melissa. It’s Official. 17 September 2007. 22 October 2016 <http://www.shakesville.com/2007/09/its-official.html>.
National Conference of State Legislatures . Breastfeeding State Laws. 30 August 2016. 22 October 2016 <http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.aspx>.
Office on Women’s Health . Breastfeeding. 21 July 2014. 22 October 2016 <https://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-benefits.html>.