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With her 5-week-old daughter crying in a bathroom at Nordstrom, and not knowing how to get the baby to latch on to her breast, Garima Nahar found herself surrounded by other women. Some offered tips, but one woman told the new mother to cover up or turn the other way.
Now there will be a period of fighting by breastfeeding women until there are rooms available. After there are, they will continue to do it where everybody can see, because they can.
I think that's already the law in California. It's really not a big deal; it just means employers (other than small businesses) have to have a place other than the bathroom for mothers to pump milk. Many companies already have formal places set aside, and for most other places it should be an easy fix. When my husband's company was redoing its southern CA office they carved out a space in the server room. I don't know if anyone has ever used it, but it's there if they need. Most companies of that size (and even small places) have a private room that can be locked, has an outlet (for electric pumps), and room for a chair; it's not like it has to be a spa-like oasis dedicated solely to that purpose.
The article above is a bit misleading because if you don't read it, or just read the first paragraph, it makes it sound like every public place will have to have a breastfeeding room in addition to bathrooms. Granted, I'm not fully up on all the details of the new federal law, but I don't think it's relevant to women like the new mother trying to nurse at Nordstrom. It's geared not at women out doing their shopping who want to nurse in private, but rather working mothers who need to have a place to pump milk for their children.
Now there will be a period of fighting by breastfeeding women until there are rooms available. After there are, they will continue to do it where everybody can see, because they can.
The law will not affect women nursing in public, because it's not meant for that purpose... it's meant for women who need to pump while at work.
I have to say that of all of the breastfeeding moms I know, which is a LOT (most of whom have no problem breastfeeding in public), I do not know anyone who pumps in public. (I'm sure that someone on this forum will now pipe in and say that they regularly see topless women pumping on mall benches. Just wait for it!) It would be fairly hard to pump at a restaurant table or on a bench at the park... not only can it be a messy endeavor, but you need an outlet if you are using an electric pump.
Yeah I've never seen a woman pump in public.. Most women find it a bit... embarrassing.. I mean, I would breastfeed in public, but pumping.. I don't know.. made me feel uneasy.
The law will not affect women nursing in public, because it's not meant for that purpose... it's meant for women who need to pump while at work.
I have to say that of all of the breastfeeding moms I know, which is a LOT (most of whom have no problem breastfeeding in public), I do not know anyone who pumps in public. (I'm sure that someone on this forum will now pipe in and say that they regularly see topless women pumping on mall benches. Just wait for it!) It would be fairly hard to pump at a restaurant table or on a bench at the park... not only can it be a messy endeavor, but you need an outlet if you are using an electric pump.
We already have a law like this in place in my state. I've never heard anyone complain about it. At my husband's worksite, the women who are pumping just lock their office doors and hang little signs outside to let people know they're pumping on their breaks.
I don't have a private office, but my manager has given me permission to use her office (she's hardly ever on site) when I need to. It works just fine.
We had a room at my old employer. There were so many women using that room at one point, they had to be on "schedules" for pumping. You are right, you can't just pump anywhere, you need an outlet. I believe that some run on batteries now though I don't know how that works.
That is such a badly written article. The law at issue pertains to the right to express breast milk while at work, yet the author uses an example of a woman shopping. Furthermore, it completely overlooks the fact that the right to express breast milk at work in an appropriate environment is a right enjoyed already by many women, under state laws.
The following states already have laws requiring employers to provide a time and place for expressing breast milk. The place may not be a handicap stall of a restroom (because there is no proper place to sit, the gaps in the partitions don't allow for full privacy, there's no plug-in for motorized pumps, and most of all it is unsanitary):
California.
Colorado.
Connecticut.
District of Columbia.
Georgia.
Illinois.
Indiana.
Maine.
Minnesota.
Montana.
New Mexico
New York
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Vermont
Wyoming
Washington and Texas have laws allowing the special promotion of employers who provide designated areas for the expression of milk.
In many of these states, new commercial office buildings are moving to provide a communal room that can be used by all tenants in the building, so that every tenant doesn't have to build their own room.
Here is a full itemization of every state's laws, pertaining to breastfeeding in the workplace and anywhere else.
I guess those laws mean that people want breastfeeders to go hide themselves in specific rooms where they can't be seen.
Again, this is for pumping, not for nursing. Using a breast pump. While at work. Not breastfeeding on a park bench!
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