Dear Abby: A Bathroom Is Not a Pumping Room
March 16, 2009 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under activism, breastfeeding, law, pumping
Today’s Dear Abby column “New Mom Reluctantly Uses Bathroom as Pumping Station” missed a fabulous opportunity to educate breastfeeding women and their employers about pumping at work. Here’s the response I will be submitting to columnist Abigail Van Buren.
Photo by Bradley Gee
DEAR ABBY:
You are absolutely right to tell “PRIVACY PLEASE” not to be ashamed of pumping at work. I hope you take it one step further and let her and your readers know that California law requires an employer to make reasonable efforts to provide a location other than a toilet stall for the employee to express milk in private (California Labor Code Sections 1030-1033). An employer can be fined $100 for every violation of the law!
Please encourage all breastfeeding mothers and all employers to check the 50 State Summary of Breastfeeding Laws compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm. Even if state law does not require employers to provide a place to pump, it’s an excellent business practice to do so! Not only does providing a pumping room boost employee morale and company loyalty, but breastfeeding also reduces healthcare costs for mother and child and results in fewer work absences due to a parent having to care for a sick child.
The United States Breastfeeding Committee reports that employers save $3 for every $1 invested in breastfeeding support! The Committee provides an excellent resource on Workplace Breastfeeding Support which details the components of adequate, expanded, and comprehensive breastfeeding programs for the workplace. I hope mothers print out the resource and take it to their employers as a way to open the discussion about sanitary and private options for a pumping room.
Sincerely,
Angela White, volunteer breastfeeding counselor and breastfeeding blogger at Breastfeeding 1-2-3
Great response, Angela. Abby almost had it right, but didn’t quite take all the steps needed.
I remember when I was in college I had to pump in the bathroom. The bathroom had this mini area before you entered stall area and I would pump there, facing the wall. At first it wasn’t so bad because although I got weird looks and comments, I had a comfy chair at least. But then someone took the chair and I had to sit on the floor
(
Shelly, I bet those people who gave you weird looks went on to think about and learn from what you were doing, and they kept it in the back of their minds for the future. Obviously you were dedicated, and you set a good example!
I recently went back to my old college and was so happy to see a lactation room! That definitely wasn’t there in my days.
That’s a well thought out and worded response. Did it get published?
Thanks Lauren! I’ve been keeping an eye on the column and haven’t seen my response so far. I’m still hoping!