World Breastfeeding Week: Legislator Ellen Spiegel helps nursing moms in Nevada

The World Breastfeeding Week annually being held on August 1-7 and this is the 25th year that organizations, individuals and government officials have come together as well as other non-government organizations. One of those officials is four-term assemblywoman, Ellen Spiegel, the assemblywoman for Assembly District 20, which includes parts of Henderson and Paradise Township in the state of Nevada. Her AB113 from the 2017 legislature gives nursing mothers a clean, safe and private place at work to express breast milk and is now in effect.

Speigel first established the bill back in 2015. She had served on Maternal and Child Health Advisory Board for four years and learned about the significance of breast feeding.

“It is not just important to families economically but is important for babies’ health and provides constant immunization. As we continue to have issues with health care, nutrition and poverty in this state, it made sense to bring in a bill for statewide help for our families.”

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While the bill didn’t pass the on first attempt, Speigel brought the bill back with revisions in 2017 legislative session and it eventually pass. During the hearings, the assembly heard from a women about having a clean place to pump breast milk. Mothers would speak with Spiegel privately about what had happened to them while handling their job and needing to pump breast milk.

“I want everyone to have healthy children to begin life with the advantage of breast feeding,” Speigel said.

World Breastfeeding Week is coordinated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, a global network of individuals and organizations concerned with the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding worldwide based on the Innocenti Declarations, the Ten Links for Nurturing the Future and the WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. WABA’s core partners are the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, International Baby Food Action Network, International Lactation Consultant Association, La Leche League International and Wellstart International. WABA is in consultative status with UNICEF and an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

#World Breastfeeding Week 2017 will call on advocates and activists, decision-makers and celebrants to build a new and purposeful partnerships.