There are several states that have their own breastfeeding laws, which are enforced in the workplace. Although this does not look like a serious piece of legislation, it actually is. It is mainly because different people seem to have different perceptions on different things of life. This may also include the topic allowing breastfeeding in the public or the workplace. These are the people who think that breastfeeding is indecent and should not be done in public.
However, there are also some who believe that it is quite okay for the mother to breastfeed her child whenever the baby is hungry and needs milk; be it in private or in a public area. So if you were a mother, it would be advisable to know very well about these breastfeeding laws to make you aware of what exactly you are against. More than half of the states in the United States of America have enacted legislation in their states that concern breastfeeding. Of these, thirty-one have enacted into law the provision for mothers to breastfeed their baby in a public or private location. So the mother can consider herself safe breastfeeding in the following states: California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.
Fifteen states have enacted laws that exempt breastfeeding from the existing public indecency laws. By this, it means that this does not charge the mother for public indecency if she breastfeeds here baby here. So the mother can feel somewhat safe in these states: Alaska, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Furthermore, there are ten states that have laws related to a mother breastfeeding in the workplace. In such states, the mother should be wary of breastfeeding her baby in the workplace. So it is better for the mother to check out on the laws of each of these states to know how and where she can breast her child. These states are California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. There are also states that have special laws related to breastfeeding, but not to the actual act of breastfeeding. For e.g. these nine states; California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma Oregon and Virginia have exempted breastfeeding mothers from serving juries.
With these laws, there are some states that have enacted unique laws related to breastfeeding. In the states of California and Texas, there are laws related to the procurement, processing, and distribution of human milk. A law in Louisiana prohibits any child care facility from discriminating against breastfed babies. The enacted laws in Maine state that courts have to consider children under the age of one who is breastfed, as a factor, when awarding parental rights and responsibilities to the child.
