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

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

I was in a private area (in the parents room) behind the curtain and this cleaner just walked in on me and watched what I was doing. She told me the parents room was for parents and breastfeeding only – and that I wasn’t allowed to eat lunch in there.

Apparently a little boy running around the room had seen Salmon pumping, and he told his mother that there was a topless woman eating lunch in the parents’ room. The mother then complained to mall security.

Shopping center management issued an apology to Salmon but her husband says no one has apologized to her personally. It is bad enough that women are being harassed for breastfeeding in public. It is discouraging to hear of a woman being harassed for pumping, and for pumping behind a curtain, in a parents’ room no less!

Thanks to Inside Motherhood for the lead on this story!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3