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BP Adams Calls For More Public Breastfeeding Zones, Paid Family Leave
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 16, 2015
Modified Apr 16, 2015
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 16, 2015
Modified Apr 16, 2015
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Adams was joined by many organizations, including Healthcare Workers East; A Better Balance; Worksites for Wellness; and YWCA of Brooklyn. (Jen Carlson/Gothamist)
This morning, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams announced his proposal for the city’s largest expansion of public breastfeeding zones. To be clear, breastfeeding anywhere in New York City is totally fine and legal, but having designated public areas and private spaces inside offices is helpful and more comfortable for new moms.
"When new mothers go back to work, they are put in an untenable position of discontinuing breastfeeding if employers have not created a private space for them to express milk through pumping, which is mandated by federal law. Also, some mothers may find breastfeeding challenging when they are in public."
With that in mind, Adams is encouraging City Councilmembers to create Breastfeeding Empowerment Zones (BFEZ) in their districts, and has now introduced one to Brooklyn Borough Hall, making it "the largest city-owned building and only city agency to provide a community breastfeeding room." It even comes with a hospital-grade pump, and will open on Mother's Day this year.
In addition to the BFEZ plan, BP Adams is supporting the passage of statewide paid family leave, as well as funding for the mental health (postpartum depression) screening of new mothers. The U.S. is the only industrialized nation that doesn't have a national paid family leave law, and many "parents in lower wage jobs do not have access" to paid family leave benefits. In New York, Res 0615 in support of NYS's Paid Family Leave Act has been introduced by NYC Council Member Rory Lancman.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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