By Gretchen Hoffman
Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 06,
2003 -
SOUTH PASADENA -- Nkem Ndefo
has gotten used to the hush that falls when she breast- feeds her son Ako,
who is 2 years and 4 months old, in public, but she isn't about to let that
stop her.
Ndefo was one of about 35
women who took part in a "Nurse Out' on Wednesday, drawing curious stares
and awkward smiles from passengers on the Gold Line as they nursed their
children in unison.
In honor of National
Breastfeeding Week, which began Friday, Nurse Outs are being held across the
country to promote the image of breast-feeding as a natural, everyday
occurrence.
"Our intent is to raise
awareness for public breast-feeding so that women are comfortable with
breast-feeding in public, as well as the people around them,' said Stacey
Mann, who organized the Nurse Out that originated at the Mission Street Gold
Line station. Mann's daughter Ryanne, who will be 3 at the end of September,
"still nurses like crazy,' Mann said.
"In this country, it's rare
that people nurse past 1,' Mann said. "In other countries, people nurse on
average until 4.'
Santa Clarita resident
Michelle Hottya took part in the event because she knows how hard it can be
to incorporate three or four breaks into the workday to use a breast pump.
"The challenge is really
educating the supervisors,' Hottya said. "Just because you're a working mom
doesn't mean you have to stop breast-feeding.'
The World Health
Organization recommends that children be breast-fed exclusively until 6
months of age and as long after that as mutually desired, preferably until
the child is 2 years old, said Luz Chacon, a Breastfeeding Task Force of
Greater Los Angeles board member who attended the event.
"We want to increase the
breast-feeding rates so that 75 percent of the population will initiate
breast-feeding,' Chacon said.
Although mothers are not
barred by law from breast- feeding in public, it often draws a negative
reaction, Ndefo said. "I have big kids and I get a lot of flak,' said Ndefo,
a Highland Park resident and a registered nurse-midwife. "It's the quickest
way to clear a room. People forget, that is what (breasts) are for.'
The benefits of
breast-feeding go far beyond nutrition and protecting against disease, Ndefo
said.
"As a midwife, I work really
long hours sometimes and it's a way we can reconnect,' Ndefo said. "It's not
just the food.'
In addition, studies show
that the breast cancer rate drops 4.3 percent with each year a woman nurses
a child, Ndefo said.
Hermosa Beach resident
Andrea Young stood with her daughter at the Gold Line stop, wearing a white
tank top and reading "Breastfeeding Is Not a Crime' hiked up over her
six-months- pregnant belly.
Her 2-year-old just stopped
nursing, but when her next child is born she plans to breast-feed as long as
the baby wants to.
"It's the best for my babies
and it's the best for me,' Young said.
-- Gretchen Hoffman can be
reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4494, or by e-mail at
gretchen.hoffman@sgvn.com.
