Pumping Up the Jams: Facts About Breast Pumping at Work

Pumping Up the Jams: Facts About Pumping at Work

As your days of maternity leave dwindle, and you get ready to head back to the office, there’s one thing you may not have given a whole lot of thought to: How the heck are you going to be pumping while you’re at work? It’s obviously something that all breastfeeding moms need to do, but depending on your work environment, it might be super easy to take care of, or maybe a little tricky. Here’s what you need to know, and what you might want to ask your boss about before your first day back:

*First of all, there’s a law that states that all U.S. employers must allow new moms adequate break time to express milk whenever the need arises for up to one year after giving birth. Depending on your type of work, that may be more or less convenient. University professors usually can’t just peace out in the middle of a two-hour lecture, while an accountant working in a firm will have more flexibility outside of meetings, etc. Think about your type of work, and what obstacles you might meet in trying to pump. If you think there may be very big challenges, speak to your boss or manager ahead of time and work out a game plan.

*Secondly, if your company has 50 or more employees, they are required by law to provide you with a place for pumping other than the bathroom. Some companies call this the serenity room, the mothers’ room, or the pumping room. Ask where yours is—and stand up for your rights to use it! A friend of mine returned to her office after maternity leave only to find that the serenity room had been taken over by men in the office who thought it was a great place to eat their ham sandwiches and make private phone calls. Seriously. Ham sandwiches. Can’t make this stuff up. When she told one of these hungry gentlemen that she needed to use the room for its intended purpose, he got a bit huffy, but just one call to HR (without even naming the culprit!) resulted in a sign being put up and a lock being installed on the door. Speak up against the sandwich brigade, ladies!

*Lastly, and this is just a good FYI so you’re totally prepared, make sure you’ll either have fridge access for your milk, or that you’ll have a good cooler with you to store what you’ve pumped. Ain’t nobody got time for all that pumping to go to waste!