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News release

For National Breastfeeding Month, Moms with Strollers Deliver Letters, Breastmilk Storage Bags Filled with Gold Hershey's Kisses to Senators Demanding Better Pumping Accommodations for Breastfeeding Mothers in the Workplace

August 7, 2017
Breastfeeding

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

MomsRising Also Launched #IPumpedHere Social Media Hashtag Campaign to Support Breastfeeding Moms at Work
WASHINGTON, DC - On Monday, August 7th, in celebration of National Breastfeeding Month, members of MomsRising, a national mom-focused advocacy organization, will hand deliver letters to members of the US Senate featuring personal stories of moms living in the United States that highlight  the need for better pumping accommodations for breastfeeding moms at the workplace.
 
As part of the action, MomsRising members will bring their children and strollers to highlight the impact of inadequate working conditions for new mothers and encourages legislators to create safe, adequate spaces for moms to pump in the workplace. MomsRising will also deliver an open letter to Senators signed by over 13,000  moms from across the country urging lawmakers  to support mothers and their babies by expanding protections for breastfeeding moms who work outside of the home. Additionally, the MomsRising members will be delivering  breastmilk storage bag filled with gold Hershey's Kisses representing their ‘liquid gold.’
 
WHAT: Moms will deliver letters to key US Senators with stories about the need for better pumping accommodations for breastfeeding moms in the workplace.
WHEN: Monday, August 7th, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
WHERE: The Hart Senate Office Building lobby by the Mountains and Clouds Sculpture. Stroller accessible entrance is off 2nd Street, NE
VISUALS: Children, moms with strollers delivering letters and  breastmilk storage bags to Senators filled with gold Hershey's Kisses representing their ‘liquid gold’ 
On-the-ground contact:  Tina Sherman | (919) 539-3639
MEDIA NOTE: MomsRising staff and volunteers will be available for interviews in both English and Spanish
WATCH LIVE ON FACEBOOK HERE: https://www.facebook.com/MomsRising.org/
 
As August marks the beginning of World Breastfeeding Week and National Breastfeeding Month, MomsRising in partnership with independent creative ad agency WONGDOODY announced the launch of  #IPumpedHere, a viral social media campaign to drive attention to the serious lack of clean, legal places for breastfeeding mothers to pump in the workplace. Throughout the month—which includes Black Breastfeeding Week from August 25th-31st—the campaign aims to empower breastfeeding moms to share their pumping experiences as a creative tool to urge employers and lawmakers to expand protections for breastfeeding moms at work.
 
VIEW #IPumpedHere Instagram posts HERE: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ipumpedhere/
VIEW the #IPumpedHere website HERE: https://ipumpedhere.org/
 
Medical guidelines recommend that new mothers breastfeed exclusively for six months and continue breastfeeding for at least one year, but many women, particularly women of color, face significant roadblocks in reaching those goals. Federal Law  requires employers to provide hourly wage-earning and some salaried employees (nonexempt workers) with “reasonable break time” and a private, non-bathroom place to express breast milk during the workday, up until the child’s first birthday. This is a great first step, however, a full 60% of U.S. working mothers still do not have access to proper pumping facilities or adequate break time at work.
 
“Airplane bathrooms. Parked cars. Utility closets. A cubicle with absolutely no privacy. These are just some of the places that breastfeeding moms have had to pump breastmilk because they didn’t have access to proper accommodations at work, “ explained Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and Executive Director of MomsRising. “Studies have shown that breastfeeding means healthier moms and babies, and the benefits extend to businesses too because healthier families mean less employee absenteeism and higher productivity.
 
“While 8 out 10 of American moms start out breastfeeding as is recommended by pediatricians, less than half are still breastfeeding at six months postpartum,” continued Rowe-Finkbeiner. “One of the main causes for the drop-off in breastfeeding rates is the lack of clean, accessible places to pump at work. That is why it is vital to highlight new mothers’ rights to clean, safe, accessible places at the workplace to pump. It is shameful that in a developed nation like the Unites States, breastfeeding moms at work must resort to pumping on the toilet or other inadequate and unsanitary places because their employer does not accommodate their right to feed their child.”
 
For more information, or for interview with a MomsRising spokesperson, please contact Yasmina Dardari at 407-922-8149 or by email at yasmina@unbendablemedia.com. 
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.