The Surgeon General and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that most babies be exclusively fed with breast milk for the first 6 months of life, and continue with breast milk through the first year of life. Breast milk provides the right balance of nutrients to help an infant grow into a strong and healthy toddler, improves the chances of infant survival, and helps protect against many common childhood illnesses and infections – such as type I and type II diabetes, leukemia, and obesity. Breast milk also contains important amino acids, only found in natural breast milk, that help an infant's brain develop. The maternal benefits to breastfeeding, among other things, include decreased postpartum bleeding, decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and decreased risk of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

H.R. 2236 seeks to encourage more women to breastfeed by extending civil rights protections to breastfeeding mothers; establishing national standards for breast pumps, and creating several new tax incentives for employers and individuals who purchase breast pumps and other equipment as well as consultation services relating to breastfeeding. Although I have some concerns over the civil rights provisions in the bill, overall I applaud the intent of H.R. 2236 and think initiatives contained within it are well worth considering.