Declare Breastfeeding Awareness Month

Assembly Resolution No. 650 BY: M. of A. Solages MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim August 2017, as Breastfeeding Awareness Month in the State of New York WHEREAS, The practice of breastfeeding encourages the establishment and development of a strong bond between the mother and her child that has a positive impact on the health of the family, and therefore on society; and WHEREAS, Breastfeeding is quintessential for the health of babies as it provides the ideal mix of vitamins, protein, and fat to promote healthy development and growth; and WHEREAS, The practice of breastfeeding has been heavily researched, and studies have displayed that higher IQ scores in later childhood have been linked to the consumption of breast milk; and WHEREAS, Breastfeeding provides preventative measures for the breastfed child against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and lowers the risk of asthma, allergies, obesity, diarrhea and ear infections; and WHEREAS, Breastfeeding provides healthy attributes for the mother as it burns extra calories, reduces uterine bleeding after birth, lowers the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and osteoporosis; and WHEREAS, There is a special bonding time which maximizes mental and social development that nursing the infant gives to a mother and her baby as they are held close and cuddled, skin-to-skin, so the baby feels calmer and more secure; and WHEREAS, The practice of breastfeeding serves as an important empowerment tool for the woman to affirm and accept her role as a new mother; and WHEREAS, This manner of feeding the child is a cost effective intervention that diminishes the expenditure on infant formula and health services rendered to infants; and WHEREAS, Both international and national organizations such as the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the American Academy of Pediatrics acknowledge the vitality of breastfeeding; and WHEREAS, The month of August commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August of 1990 by government policymakers, WHO, UNICEF and other organizations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding; and WHEREAS, United States Department of Health and Human Services endorses the observation of Breastfeeding Awareness Month on August 1 of every year to acknowledge the importance of breastfeeding and encourage prospective mothers to learn more about this practice; and WHEREAS, Breastfeeding is becoming an endangered practice in the United States due to a lack of education and support towards this fruitful practice; and WHEREAS, It is fitting and proper for this Legislative Body to take note of such an empowering and healthy practice which bonds mother and child in an economically sound and healthy manner, as it fosters the constructive development of its youngest citizens to this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim August 2017, as Breastfeeding Awareness Month in the State of New York, and to commend efforts put forward to educate women on the subject matter of breastfeeding; and be it further RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York, and to the New York State Department of Health.