MEAL TIME! Beyonce Breastfeeds Blue Ivy Carter In Public (PHOTOS)

by Brittany Lewis for Global Grind Staff

Beyonce is on mega mommy mode since birthing her adorable baby girl Blue Ivy Carter.

And full on mommy mode includes breastfeeding baby Blue Ivy in public like millions of women in America.

According to Us Weekly, over the weekend on her stroll out with baby Blue and hubby Jay-Z, Beyonce took a few minutes during her dining time to breastfeed Blue Ivy at the table.

Us Weekly Reports:

Escorted by husband Jay-Z, the "Girls (Run the World)" singer, 30, took along daughter Blue Ivy, seven weeks, for a casual lunch at Sant Ambroeus in NYC's West Village last Saturday.

And Beyonce nursed her little girl at her the table, an observer tells Us Weekly. Two additional sources confirm to Us that the first-time mom has been breastfeeding her daughter.

Read more here: http://globalgrind.com/music/beyonce-breastfeeding-blue-ivy-carter-public-daughter-baby-photos

Wordless Wednesday: Support Table for Two

www.supporttablefortwo.org

Wordless Wednesday: Would You Eat in the Bathroom? (Photos)

Support Table for Two

Table for Two: A campaign to establish public lactation rooms for breastfeeding mothers. You wouldn't eat in the bathroom, so why would you expect a baby to?

Twitter @LactationRooms

For more information, please read more here: http://www.supporttablefortwo.org

To show your support for this important campaign, please like our Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/supporttablefortwo

Thank you!

http://www.supporttablefortwo.org

http://www.facebook.com/supporttablefortwo

Support Establishing Lactation Rooms in Public Places: Would You Eat in the Bathroom?

One of the greatest struggles for breastfeeding mothers is to have our voices heard and accommodations met in order to express milk and feed our children in public places. Women have lobbied and fought for years to establish lactation rooms in their places of employment and public facilities. Only recently have states begun to pass laws that help ensure that mothers have a private place to nurse their children.

On March 30, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that mandates an employer with more than 50 workers to provide a private room (not a restroom) in which their female employees and customers can express breast milk for their children as needed. Today there are more than 83 million mothers in the United States - roughly 61% of them work. As the socio-economic structure continues to change, more women are returning to work immediately after maternity leave. While some women are able to transition smoothly back into the workplace, others need assistance with juggling work and newly-minted motherhood.

















The transition back to work is sometimes difficult and can be a bit challenging for nursing mothers who would like to continue to breastfeed. The lack of private spaces to pump at work makes this transition even more daunting; some mothers decide to stop breastfeeding their children all together. I was one of those mothers. With our first son, my only option at work was to pump in the public restroom. I slowly whined him then eventually stopped breastfeeding due to the inconvenience and lack of privacy. The painful reality of allowing breast milk to “dry up” when women are not ready to stop nursing can cause tremendous grief, depression, and disappointment for some mothers’ effort to provide the most important nutrients to their newborn. Also, breastfeeding during the first 12 months of an infant’s life can provide tremendous health benefits for the child, even long-term. A recent report from the CDC shared that breastfeeding helps to prevent childhood obesity.

After giving birth to our second son, a former colleague and I spoke up and assisted our employer in establishing a permanent lactation room on site. We provided a safe and designated place for mothers to pump and feed their children. This allowed a smoother transition for working mothers, and enabled them to continue to provide milk for their children after returning back to work. I was pleased to have the ability to nurse our second son for nearly 15 months.
















Employers come up with many excuses about why they do not have private rooms designated for nursing mothers. These range from costs to space availability. Companies would benefit from establishing lactation rooms on site, because breastfeeding mothers will have support transitioning back to work, look favorable to customers, and can be a good recruitment tool for employees.

Unfortunately, these challenges are widespread. Living in Atlanta, I was shocked to find out that the world's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (HJAIA), does not have designated lactation rooms for employees or customers. They ask mothers to feed their children in the restroom or to call in advance to arrange a private room to pump or breastfeed. There is no information or timeline posted on their website when or if lactation rooms will be established.

Breastfeeding in the bathroom is synonymous to having your child literally “eat” in the restroom. Let's face it - eating in the bathroom is gross! You wouldn’t eat in the bathroom, so why would you expect your baby to eat there? Holding a child up or squatting on a public toilet to feed among unpleasant smells is inhumane. Oftentimes, in order for ones milk "to let down" mothers need a pleasant, clean, and sanitary environment to express milk. Breastfeeding mothers deserve safe, secure, and comfortable places to pump and nurse their children.
















To address these issues and to provide a resource for those who would like to establish lactation rooms at the public places they frequent most, I have launched a Lactation Room support campaign, Table For Two. The campaign’s first initiative is to bring lactation rooms to HJAIA. It's time to establish designated and convenient lactation rooms at Atlanta's airport, as well as companies, and organizations across the country. Would you eat in the bathroom? Of course not, because eating in the restroom is gross. Ask officials at the world's busiest airport to support their employees and customers.

To support this cause and for more information, please visit www.supporttablefortwo.org. You may also join the campaign on Twitter and Facebook.















Featured on YourBlackWorld.com and MyAtlantaMoms.com.

Allen Cooley Photography

K. Kheir Photography

Would You Eat in the Bathroom?

"Ask for what you want, because it doesn't hurt to ask!"
- My Mom

Question: Why doesn't Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have lactation rooms for breastfeeding mothers?

Action: Over the weekend, I emailed the Mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed and several airport and government officials asking them to establish designated lactation rooms for breastfeeding moms at the busiest airport in the country. I remain perplexed as to why there are designated smoking rooms in the airport yet no lactation rooms.

Currently, airport officials can provide private rooms for moms to express milk if given advance notice. Moms are also encouraged to breastfeed or pump in the family bathrooms. (If anyone has ever nursed or pumped in a public bathroom then you have probably done it sitting on the floor, toilet or standing up, all of which are unpleasant and uncomfortable.) In addition to help my mission, I created a group on Public Square Atlanta for people to help support my goal: http://t.co/fKN0p7H

Under the recent health care reform act, employers are now required to provide a space (not a bathroom) for breastfeeding moms. I'm on a mission to help Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport establish lactation rooms for employees and traveling moms because it will help them stay in compliance and it’s the right thing to do. I hope you'll join this mission with me!

Eating in the bathroom is gross! 

Why should we make our kids do it?

Airport officials responded promptly to my request (in part):
First, let me say we share your concern in providing facilities for nursing mothers and appreciate your interest in ensuring Hartsfield-Jackson has nursing rooms for our customers. We absolutely support a mother’s choice to breastfeed and encourage them to continue while they are passengers in our airport.


As you can appreciate, space and resources are at a premium at the world’s busiest airport and in extremely limited supply. However, I’m pleased to tell you that we have been working closely with lactation professionals from Piedmont Hospital, the Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition and others over many months and we are well along in a project that will bring mothers’ nursing facilities to Hartsfield-Jackson in the near future.


To this end, when these facilities become fully operational, we will be happy to let you know and you can share the news with your followers. Or, you could even visit the facilities when you next fly out of Hartsfield-Jackson.


In the meantime, as we mentioned in our response to your Tweet last week, with advanced notice we are happy to make private and secure arrangements for nursing mothers. The number is (404) 209-2920.


Again, we appreciate your interest in Hartsfield-Jackson providing mothers’ nursing rooms for our passengers and we will keep you informed of our progress.

I responded (in part):
I'm glad to hear that you are working with lactation professionals from Piedmont Hospital, and the Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition. If possible, I would like to serve on the committee.


What is the timeline for establishing lactation rooms at the airport? Where is it advertised that nursing mothers can call in advance to arrange a private space to nurse or pump? Where are the private rooms located?


I look forward to your response. Again, I appreciate your time and consideration.

Response from HJAIA (in part):
Thanks for the offer but there is no committee. Usually this is not the process for public procurement and construction of airport facilities.


However, we have been working closely with outside lactation experts over the last year or two to ascertain appropriate information and are now entering the procurement phase of the project, prior to construction. We are not in a position to publicly share the timeline, nor locations, at this time.


But, rest assured, we are happy to let you know this information as soon as we are able, so that you can share it with your constituents.


I hope this helps.

Breastfeeding at Atlanta's Airport #Fail
While I appreciate the response from the busiest airport in the country that doesn't have space for lactation rooms, I would give them an F. F for Fail. I haven't responded to the last email, because my questions weren't answered. I'm going to continue to press the issue and encourage readers to sign up to help me establish lactation rooms at Atlanta's airport.

There are a couple of things that get me fired up and this is one of them. I appreciate you assisting me in providing mothers the right to have a designated, safe, comfortable and private place to express milk.
  Please visit: http://t.co/fKN0p7H