00 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 24 01 Encouraging breast-feeding for the well-being of mothers and babies. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 WHEREAS the medical profession in the United States recommends that children 04 from birth to the age of one year should be breast-fed unless, under particular circumstances, 05 it is medically inadvisable; and 06 WHEREAS, despite the recommendation of the medical profession, statistics reveal 07 a declining percentage of mothers who are choosing to breast-feed their babies; and 08 WHEREAS many new mothers are now choosing to use formula rather than to breast- 09 feed even before they leave the hospital, and only a small percentage of all mothers are still 10 breast-feeding when their babies are six months old; and 11 WHEREAS, in addition to the benefit of improving bonding between mothers and 12 their babies, breast-feeding offers better nutrition, digestion, and immunity for babies than 13 does formula-feeding, and it may increase the intelligence quotient of a child; and 14 WHEREAS babies who are breast-fed have lower rates of death, meningitis, childhood 01 leukemia and other cancers, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, bacterial and viral infections, 02 diarrheal diseases, otitis media, allergies, obesity, and developmental delays; and 03 WHEREAS breast-feeding also provides significant benefits to the health of the 04 mother, including protection against breast cancer and other cancers, osteoporosis, and 05 infections of the urinary tract; and 06 WHEREAS the incidence of breast cancer in the United States might be reduced by 07 25 percent if every woman breast-fed all her children until they reached the age of two years; 08 and 09 WHEREAS the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund 10 have established as one of their major goals for the decade the encouragement of breast- 11 feeding; and 12 WHEREAS the social constraints of modern society weigh against the choice of 13 breast-feeding and lead new mothers with demanding time schedules to choose formula- 14 feeding to avoid embarrassment, social ostracism, or criminal prosecution; and 15 WHEREAS any promotion of family values should encourage public acceptance of 16 this most basic act of nurture between a mother and her baby, and a mother should not be 17 made to feel incriminated or socially ostracized for breast-feeding her child; 18 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges businesses to actively 19 encourage women to feel comfortable about breast-feeding their babies on business premises 20 and to issue promotional materials that advertise the business positive attitude toward breast- 21 feeding; and be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 23 Governor to direct the Department of Health and Social Services to continue to provide 24 information to the public that encourages breast-feeding of babies as a nurturing and 25 nutritional act. 26 A COPY of this resolution shall be sent to the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce.