Bill Text: NY K00642 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim August 2023, as Breastfeeding Awareness Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-6)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-06 - adopted [K00642 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-K00642-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 642

BY: M. of A. Solages

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        August 2023, 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 breast-
feeding; 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  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim   August   2023,   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 Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of  New
York; and the New York State Department of Health.