cuba, 2017 canada in canada, section 28 of the canadian charter of rights and freedoms gives equal rights and freedoms to men and women, without explicitly mentioning breastfeeding. both british columbia and ontario have included protections against discrimination due to breastfeeding in their provincial human rights codes. in both provinces, discrimination due to breastfeeding is included in existing protections against discrimination based on sex. infact canada (infant feeding action coalition) is a national non-governmental organization that aims to protect infant and young child health as well as maternal well-being through the promotion and support of breastfeeding and optimal infant feeding practices. it is an organization that provides support and education for canadian mothers. in 2009, a woman at a shop was asked by an employee to stop breastfeeding publicly, supported by a manager. she later received an apology and acknowledgement of customers' right to breastfeed. a worker at the ymca in st. john's told a breastfeeding mother to leave the premises. the mother was feeding her seven-month-old daughter in a private change room, which required a monthly fee. ymca ceo jason brown later apologized, stating "this situation has caused us to reflect and review, and certainly we see no reason why there should be a restriction to women breastfeed their babies in the adult-only change room." inuit inuit children have the lowest breastfeeding rates amongst indigenous peoples in canada, far lower than the canadian average. according to a 2006 statistics report, 24% of inuit children have never been breastfed. there have been health promotion programs created in order to increase the knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding amongst inuit women. united states woman in center is feeding her baby in a tent city erected in 1920 by the red cross in st. louis, missouri, so city families could get away from the august heat. (drawing by marguerite martyn of the st. louis post-dispatch.) a number of issues constrain mothers from breastfeeding in public in the united states. in 2011, the us surgeon general issued a plea to promote breastfeeding and stated in it: "although focusing on the sexuality of female breasts is common on the mass media, visual images of breastfeeding are rare, and a mother may never have seen a woman breastfeeding". another issue, especially in extended breastfeeding, is that us medical providers are not well-trained in supporting breastfeeding mothers. in a survey of medical professionals published in 2012, including physicians, midwives, residents, and nursing students, only 57.8% felt that breastfeeding over 1 year of age was normal. the recommendations for breastfeeding are until at least one year, yet in 2016 the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) reported that only 51.8% of infants were breastfed at six months and 30.7% of infants were being breastfed at one year old. in a 2004 survey conducted by the american dietetic association, 43% of the 3,719 respondents believed women ought to have the right to breastfeed in public. in spite of this, women breastfeeding in public have met with social resistance and even arrest. in some public places and workplaces, rooms for mothers to nurse in private have been designated. u.s. legislation governing breastfeeding varies from state to state and a limited federal law only applies to federal government premises. a united states house of representatives appropriations bill (hr 2490) contained an amendment specifically permitting breastfeeding and was signed into law on september 29, 1999. it stipulated that no government funds may be used to enforce any prohibition on women breastfeeding their children in federal buildings or on federal property. further, a federal law also enacted in 1999 specifically provides that "a woman may breastfeed her child at any location in a federal building or on federal property, if the woman and her child are otherwise authorized to be present at the location." section 4207 of the patient protection and affordable care act amended the fair labor standards act and required employers to provide a reasonable break time for an employee to breastfeed her child if it is less than one year old. the employee must be allowed to breastfeed in a private place, other than a bathroom. the employer is not required to pay the employee during the break time. employers with fewer than 50 employees are not required to comply with the law if doing so would impose an undue hardship to the employer based on its size, finances, nature, or structure of its business. a number of incidents of harassment of nursing mothers that gained media attention prompted a number of u.s. states to act. these actions included viral videos of people harassing breastfeeding mothers in public, protests, and social media campaigns. a particular incident with a target employee harassing a breastfeeding mother helped to launch a new trend with corporations making breastfeeding accepted in their stores. as of july 2018, all 50 states, the district of columbia, and the virgin islands have passed legislation that explicitly allows women to breastfeed in public. further, at least 29 states, the district of columbia, and the virgin islands exempt them from prosecution for public indecency or indecent exposure for doing so. australia section 7aa of the sex discrimination act 1984 specifically prohibits discrimination against a woman on account of her breastfeeding. the prohibition also applies to a public or semi-public place. state and territory laws differ, but it is generally illegal to discriminate against women breastfeeding in a public place as a protected attribute in five jurisdictions and by proxy from other existing legislation in the other jurisdictions. the australian breastfeeding association was founded in melbourne, victoria in 1964 as the nursing mothers' association, and together with many health professionals, encourages and assists mothers to breastfeed their babies, if necessary also in a public place. in february 2003, kirstie marshall, member of the victorian legislative assembly, was ejected from parliament for breastfeeding her 11-day-old baby on the basis that the baby was "a stranger" not entitled to be in the chamber. as a result, a special room was set up for use by nursing mothers. a 2007 house of representatives committee on health and ageing report into breastfeeding recommended that parliament house seek formal accreditation from the australian breastfeeding association as a breastfeeding-friendly workplace. in march 2008, the presiding officers agreed to the recommendation and work commenced to provide facilities to assist breastfeeding mothers at parliament house. two small rooms were made available, one on each side of parliament house, for members of parliament and other building occupants to breastfeed or express milk. certificates of accreditation were provided in a ceremony at the parliament on 17 october 2008. new zealand breastfeeding is encouraged and public breastfeeding is common. in fact, bottle feeding has been so widely discouraged that public bottle feeding may make a mother feel more uncomfortable than public breastfeeding. many shopping centers provide "parent's rooms" where mothers may change and feed their infants in comfort. south america a woman breastfeeding at a carnival in rio de janeiro, brazil, 2017 in most areas of south america, breastfeeding is the norm and public breastfeeding is common in buses, parks, malls, etc. it is less common to see public bottle feeding than breastfeeding. while women are seldom seen nursing in upscale restaurants or on the streets of large cities, nursing is encouraged and thought of as normal and a nursing mother's breasts are not viewed as sexual objects. brazil in brazil, there are no laws that prevent or criminalize breastfeeding in public. article 9 of the child and adolescent statute states that the government, institutions and employers must provide adequate conditions for breastfeeding. some brazilian states and municipalities have passed laws to ensure the right of mothers to breastfeed in public and private places. in 2015, the governor of the state of são paulo, geraldo alckmin sanctioned a law passed by the legislative assembly that punishes anyone who prevents a woman from breastfeeding with a fine of approximately r$ 510.00. in case of recurrence, the amount of the fine is doubled. in the same year, a law similar to that of são paulo was sanctioned by the mayor of the municipality of rio de janeiro, eduardo paes. the law provides for fines of r$2,000 to r$10,000 for companies and employees who prevent mothers from breastfeeding their children in any public or private place. in the state of rio grande do sul, there is also a similar law prohibiting any type of constraint on breastfeeding in public. in state capital, porto alegre, fines are also foreseen for establishments that prohibit mothers from breastfeeding on their premises. in 2019, a bill introduced by senator vanessa grazziotin for ensure at the federal level the right to breastfeeding in public establishes fines of around r$1,996 for those who prevent mothers from breastfeeding in public. as of february 2022, the bill is still pending in the constitution and justice committee of the chamber of deputies. controversies breastfeeding at work in canada under the canadian charter of rights and freedoms women are protected against discrimination, but canada was one of the only countries that did not have paid breastfeeding breaks. although over 26% of mothers breastfeed, many of them are forced to stop due to work restrictions. public breastfeeding in the u.s. there have been incidents of owners of premises, or people present, objecting to or forbidding breastfeeding. in some cases, the mothers have left. in other cases, where a law guaranteeing the right to breastfeed has been broken, legal action has been taken. some companies have even apologised afterward. one woman who was not allowed to breastfeed despite showing the kentucky law that allows her the right, left but later organized several "nurse-in" protests in front of the restaurant and other public places. in june 2007, brooke ryan was dining in a booth at the rear of an applebee's restaurant when she began to breastfeed her seven-month-old son. although she attempted to be discreet, another patron complained to the manager about indecent exposure. both a waitress and the manager asked her to cover up. she handed him a copy of the kentucky law that permitted public breastfeeding, but he would not relent. she opted to feed her son in her car, and later organized "nurse-out" protests in front of the restaurant and other public locations. in 2008, a woman in new orleans put a tent over her truck at a street festival so she could nurse her daughter privately. she was cited by police for an "unauthorized booth" and removed from the street festival. babytalk magazine cover in 2006, the editors of u.s. babytalk magazine received many complaints from readers after the cover of the august issue depicted a baby nursing at a bare breast. even though the model's nipple was not shown, readers—many of them mothers—wrote that the image was "gross". in a follow-up poll, one-quarter of 4,000 readers who responded thought the cover was negative. babytalk editor susan kane commented, "there's a huge puritanical streak in americans." barbara walters in 2005, u.s. television presenter barbara walters remarked on her talk show the view that she felt uncomfortable sitting next to a breastfeeding mother during a flight. her comments upset some viewers who began organizing protests over the internet. a group of about 200 mothers staged a public "nurse-in" where they breastfed their babies outside abc's headquarters in new york. target store protest in december 2011, michelle hickman was breastfeeding her infant at the back of a target store in houston, texas. although covered, she was asked by two employees to move to a fitting room. hickman said one of the employees told her, "you can get a ticket and be reported for indecent exposure." she reported the harassment on facebook, and in response a number of mothers organized public "nurse-ins" at target stores across the united states in cities including houston, knoxville, and decatur, illinois. claridge's hotel in 2014, a waiter at claridge's hotel in mayfair, london, asked louise burns to breastfeed under a cloth. burns was told that it was hotel policy for mothers to cover up while breastfeeding. uk politician and broadcaster nigel farage spoke out in support of the hotel's right to have such a policy but the prime minister's office at 10 downing street said it was "totally unacceptable for any women to be made to feel