Your Breastfeeding Rights & Resources in Central Kentucky

By Katie Saltz

I nursed my daughter for the first nine months of her life and was darn lucky.

I had a supportive employer, understanding colleagues and no one ever tried to kick me out of a public place for feeding my baby (although I would have LOVED to have had that confrontation).

But if you are unsure about your rights as a breastfeeding mother, here are the basics:

KRS 211.755 gives mothers the right to breastfeed in public.

“… A mother may breastfeed her baby or express breast milk in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be.

“Breast-feeding a child or expressing breast milk as part of breast-feeding shall not be considered an act of public indecency and shall not be considered indecent exposure, sexual conduct, lewd touching, or obscenity.”

• The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to provide: “reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child” as well as “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”
• Of all the excuses people make to get out of jury duty, breastfeeding is actually a legitimate reason. KRS 29A.100 requires all levels of the court “to excuse women who are breastfeeding or expressing breast milk from jury service until the child is no longer nursing.”

On the local level, Lexington boasts a wide array of  breastfeeding resources.

Blossom, a maternity boutique, sells some of the most fashionable and high-quality nursing tops I’ve seen.

Mother Nurture will help you find the right breast pump, nursing bra and can help with everything short of actually making the milk for you.

The ladies at Baby Moon can give you a “Mama Latte” body massage that helps promote milk flow and is just a nice way to get some “me” time.

And if you ever have questions and want to hear from an actual person instead of a book or web site, contact Doraine Bailey, Breastfeeding Support Services Program Coordinator at the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.

Breastfeeding is a challenge – physically, emotionally and, at times, logistically.

But with the right support system, it can be done.
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New Health Care Law Supports Breastfeeding
The Affordable Care Act is so widely debated it can be difficult to understand what it really means. Several parts of the law benefit pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

The following is a synopsis:

•  Comprehensive breastfeeding support and counseling from trained providers.
•  Access to breastfeeding supplies for pregnant and nursing women.
•  Registered Dietitians and International Board Certified Lactation Consultants will be able to insert their expertise in medical offices, community clinics and outpatient hospital clinics.
•  Anemia screenings on a routine basis for pregnant women.
•  Screening for gestational diabetes for women 24-28 weeks pregnant and those at high risk for gestational diabetes.
•  Requires businesses to have a private location and allow break time for a working mother to pump breast milk.