Nursing mothers may gain the right to breastfeed their babies in cafes and shops.

Equality laws enshrine mothers' right to breastfeed in public - Guardian

Extract:

"New mothers will gain the right to breastfeed their babies in cafes and shops under proposed changes to equality laws announced yesterday.

The move to rationalise 40 years of piecemeal equality legislation, unveiled by the communities secretary, Ruth Kelly, would extend protection against discrimination for pregnant women and mothers with young babies beyond employment rights for the first time.

It would mean that women breastfeeding infants of up to a year could no longer be told to leave cafes, shops and other places - still a relatively frequent occurrence according to campaigners.

In Scotland the law was changed more than two years ago to make it an offence for any venue that normally admits children to prevent a mother breastfeeding.

The planned reform banning discrimination against pregnant women and new mothers in goods and services is contained in a green paper aimed at streamlining and plugging gaps in the UK's complex equality law. But the paper was attacked by a range of campaigners yesterday for failing to go far enough."

If these plans become law, the removal of some difficulties re: breastfeeding in public bodes well for child health. High salt/sodium intake is the main cause of obesity (because of fluid retention) in children. And breast milk, apart from the usually extolled virtues tha benefit the baby, is very low in sodium content and therefore does not set the baby on the road to obesity. The longer the breastfeeding continues, the better the protection from obesity. And since obesity brings in its wake the risk of a host of attendant health deficits - high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, depression, heart disease, etc etc - all of which are currently increasing in children. - You can read more about this on page http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/children.html and
My Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/
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