Pumping Moms Are Heroes: Tips for Working Moms in Honor of World Breast Pumping Day
“The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother” (St. Thérèse of Lisieux).
January 27 marks World Breast Pumping Day, creating “an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the time, energy, and dedication pumping requires.” Any mother who has pumped even once can agree that it certainly takes time, energy and dedication; for those moms who pump regularly (exclusively or in combination with nursing or formula), it’s a daily re-commitment. For working mothers, there are added considerations around time, storage, and location to navigate in order to pump effectively.
Pumping as a Breastfeeding Option
The first U.S. patent for a breast pump was issued in 1854, but the early models weren’t easy to use, clean, or carry around. Medela, a still-popular maker of electric breast pumps, put out its first electric model 150 years later, in 1991. During my pregnancy, I was invited to choose from a dizzying variety of electric models (Battery operated! Nightlight included! Small! Large! Can fit in your bra!), with an equally confusing grid of costs and insurance coverage. (I ended up with the Spectra S1 portable electric pump, if you’re curious. It was only partially covered by my insurance.)
For many working moms who want to nurse, pumping is a necessity to ensure they can keep up their milk supply to provide breastmilk for bottle feedings if they choose to do so. Some moms may choose to pump exclusively if nursing proves challenging. I was encouraged to pump soon after my daughter’s birth to encourage my milk supply to come in and had to suffer through the “triple feed” (nursing, pumping, bottle feeding) for several weeks after she was diagnosed with failure to thrive.
Pumping Accommodations in the Workplace
In order to pump while working in an office and/or during work-related travel, women should be prepared to advocate for their needs related to pumping and milk storage. These include:
A safe, quiet, private space to pump that is appropriately furnished.
Breaks of an appropriate length throughout the day.
Refrigeration.
A place to wash their pump parts, if needed.
Colleagues who are comfortable with, and not derogatory or dismissive toward, pumping mothers.
If traveling, possible shipment of breastmilk back home.
If you are pregnant and considering nursing (and, therefore, possibly pumping when you return to work), it’s worth speaking to your human resources team prior to any maternity leave you will be taking to ensure accommodations are in place when you return.
Each Woman Has a Personal Journey
Each woman has a personal journey with feeding her baby, and I feel it is important to emphasize that no option is wrong. Each mother should choose an option that will feed her baby adequately and not cause undue strain that could damage her mental or physical health. Lactation consultants, experienced moms, or peers in the same stage of life can all be invaluable resources in navigating what was, for me, one of the most challenging aspects of my daughter’s infancy. (Who knew there were different pump flange sizes? Turns out there are, and choosing the right one can really affect your ability to pump.)
I’m celebrating World Pumping Day because pumping moms are some of my heroes. After several weeks of the triple feed—hours of nursing, supplementing with formula, and then pumping endlessly to then get small amounts of milk, followed by constant cleaning of pump parts—I gave up. My pump proved to be an excellent, although expensive, nightlight. I battled through nursing for 13 months during remote work, during which time my daughter would never take a bottle and proved prone to biting, and my milk supply always struggled to meet her needs. I’m not sure I’d make the same choice again, if I were given the option to redo that journey. A different pump or pumping method may have reduced some of my overwhelm with constant attachment.
In January, I’m honoring the women I’ve known and witnessed pumping while working, caring for their baby and/or other children, and just generally being a woman in the world. You are all heroes to me.
Sarah Battersby has a Bachelor's in English and a Master's in Social Work and has spent most of her career working with students and student-serving organizations. She is the co-founder of a consulting firm that serves donors and philanthropic organizations seeking to create and manage impactful scholarship programs. She loves reading, baking, being a mentor, and discovering new things with her daughter. She lives in North Carolina with her family.