I would argue that breakrooms are probably cleaner than the same room that people take a shit in and then touch their asshole with a thin sheet of paper.

I would assume then you're ok with a chef preparing food for you in the same vicinity as his sous with the runs? Of course he'll wash his hands with hot water and a drop of dawn.

2/25/2014 6:39:44 PM

My company has a first aid room, people can give themselves insulin injections (or whatever other injectable medications), suck their tits dry, or lay down on a doctors table if they are dizzy or something. There's also basic otc medications for employees to use.

Restricting access to a high traffic area is not a solution. Give her an office with any windows coverable, or clean out a storage room.

2/25/2014 6:40:39 PM

^^Bathrooms are cleaned daily. I don't know about the break room. And, again, are we to assume this woman is incapable of not smearing her pump and boob all over potentially dirty surfaces? She shouldn't be pumping anywhere if that's the case.

Lactation rooms are important, but I'm just not all that bothered by the notion of this woman getting up from her office chair to go sit in another chair while she pumps her milk in the restroom. That's not an actual hardship.

2/25/2014 6:52:49 PM

If the office is so small that the only 2 rooms with doors are a break room and a bathroom, I doubt that have a daily cleaning service. My last office was 20 people, we had several rooms with doors for privacy, but only had cleaners coming in once a week on Friday night.

Plus, its not about wether she's rubbing her tits across the toilet seat or dragging her pump across the floor. She just needs to touch her hand to a doorknob, light socket, mirror, paper towel dispenser, to come into contact with fecal matter.


You're not going to convince me that the bathroom is the best option without being able to show a health department or hospital that allows food preparation or patient care to be done in a shared restroom.

And regardless, most companies are required by law to provide a space, because while its inconvenient to not have access to a microwave, it is a medical necessity for her to pump. Unless the company is fine with her doing it at her desk in a shared space (my wife did this/will do it again) then the only option they have is to let her use the breakroom.

2/25/2014 7:01:35 PM

I agree that she should be allowed to use the break room. On a policy level, that is clearly what makes sense. However, if she chose to be extra considerate and use the restroom, I would never suggest that was unsanitary or inappropriate. And I think it's ridiculous that people behave like that's not an option.

2/25/2014 7:21:40 PM

Know what's also a mandated benefit? Lunch.

2/25/2014 7:27:00 PM

I find it ridiculous that someone who has never pumped before is saying that no one should have a problem pumping in the bathroom. There is an entire process to getting staged and ready to pump. You should be able to set up and pump without worrying about unsanitary surface. I also don't want to pump in a smelly room, a dirty room, a room without a plug, or room where I can't set my things down. There is a reason bathrooms are not acceptable places to pump, and thinking she should sacrifice her child's well being, or her comfort for the convenience of those around her is ridiculous. It is not her call to use the breakroom, it is her company's.

2/25/2014 8:12:38 PM

^ where in the hell have you been?
You are never allowed to leave us again

[Edited on February 25, 2014 at 8:15 PM. Reason : Uuu]

2/25/2014 8:15:28 PM

I just came back to post about boobies.

2/25/2014 8:18:18 PM

I've missed you

2/25/2014 8:20:34 PM

Honestly she can pump half the fucking day for all I care. The main issue that is inconveniencing myself, other engineers, and managers is the fact that her "pumping" is occuring during the peak lunch hour.

Quote :

"Do you even know if the other two moms are breastfeeding? The reasons for avoiding the bathroom should be obvious, even for a 'considerate' person, if they're not just going to pump and dump. though realistically, the break room is probably smeared with just as much shit as the bathroom. get an icepack and bring your lunch to your desk in the morning if you can't bear to be separated from your food for 10 minutes."

I know one of them is from listening to cubicle gossip.

Quote :

"get an icepack and bring your lunch to your desk in the morning if you can't bear to be separated from your food for 10 minutes."

Today it was not 10 minutes it was over 20 by the time the "business was done."
Additionally it was not just me waiting, there was a queue including one of the other engineering managers.

Supposedly this employee has been known for over-dramatizing other issues to justify paid time off and etc.

Quote :

"he's trying to provide what she feels is the best for her baby, and you're over here questioning her decision. "

What about the other 2 recent moms.......

Additionally my company is small. 50 employees at most and we work in a leased building. The break room is the only non-working room unless you count the server room...

Wait a minute, server room GREAT IDEA!!!!

Quote :

"If the office is so small that the only 2 rooms with doors are a break room and a bathroom, I doubt that have a daily cleaning service. "

You are right about the former not the latter. Since we are in a leased building sanitation visits the restrooms like 3 times during the business day.

2/25/2014 9:10:48 PM

What do the other two recent moms have to do with her decision to pump for her baby?

2/25/2014 9:23:14 PM

^Because they choose to pump while sitting on the toilet.

Also, while I don't pump, I'm on the other end of the chain and handle lots of breast milk for my son. Everything that touches it needs to be sterile and it spoils unbelievably fast. And the times for pumping aren't as flexible as some people would think. Waiting an hour or two can create oversupply issues. If she's pumping during lunch, she probably doesn't have much of a choice.

If you think she over-dramatizes stuff now, wait till she gets mastitis. I've had a few friends end up with it, and its very painful.

2/25/2014 9:37:51 PM

LOL, yes, HUR, she's going to get mastitis, and this too should apparently affect you. Because babies.

It's very painful!

2/25/2014 9:46:26 PM

Came to see what was going on here and I have this same thought

Quote :

"^ where in the hell have you been? You are never allowed to leave us again"

Indeed Beethoven. Indeed.

Also fuck pumping or breastfeeding in a bathroom. So many parts with a pump too that could fall on the floor.

Sorry you have to wait for lunch. It does seem like she's pumping on a schedule though, so you can slip in beforehand and grab your food. But if it's queuing up, someone (HR) should talk to her.

2/25/2014 9:54:25 PM

Do you guys work at a truckstop or Circle K or something? Bathrooms might not be as sanitary as some other rooms, but I dunno where you work that there's just pieces of shit floating through the air, waiting to poison babies.

2/25/2014 10:06:53 PM

No. But my desk is literally right next to the bathrooms in my office. I know pretty much everyone's habits, and I hear who double taps, single or bypasses the automatic soap dispenser before leaving. Even if it's cleaned everyday at 10am, I would not pump in there.

2/25/2014 10:17:28 PM

I pump it in our work bathroom from time to time. What's the big deal?

2/25/2014 10:27:12 PM

Women

Am I right?

2/25/2014 10:28:24 PM

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2014/02/delta-airlines-breast-feeding-tweets-ignite-social-media-firestorm/

While on the subject what about the mom whose baby supposedly will not eat under cover so she baits Delta Airlines with a tweet about whipping her tits out in the middle of the airplane. Sorry as another paying customer i don't care if the passenger next to me discretely breast feeds, alternatively i don't want to see some fat bitches tits bouncing around my seat during lift off in my face.

2/25/2014 10:31:50 PM

Every day from 12:00-12:30. Probably for the half hour after the first pot of coffee is brewed in the morning as well. She's on a schedule, she's trolling you.

[Edited on February 25, 2014 at 10:35 PM. Reason : -]

2/25/2014 10:34:20 PM

^^ See that I don't care about. You wanna show your tits to everyone, fine.

Blocking me from my lunch, not fine

[Edited on February 25, 2014 at 10:35 PM. Reason : .]

2/25/2014 10:35:16 PM

yeah. fuck her baby getting his/her lunch if it keeps you from getting yours!

2/25/2014 11:27:42 PM

but the baby isn't even getting lunch. She's making her baby dinner on company time.

2/25/2014 11:38:52 PM

so we should just fire her, right? because fuck being a woman and having kids, right?

2/25/2014 11:41:03 PM

All I'm saying is, if she's going to lock her ass in the break room, they might as well put in a stove and have her make everyone lunch.

2/25/2014 11:43:20 PM

burro would want her fired if she gave up 25 first half points to Duke

2/25/2014 11:59:43 PM

bitch should know to guard the center

2/26/2014 12:07:32 AM

There are plenty of women who stand over a fryer for 90% of an 8.5 hour shift and then get to spend another 6 hours stocking shelves at their second job. They get no benefits, no maternity leave, and if their children get sick, they can't care for them without possibly losing their jobs and definitely losing their pay.

Being a working mother is hard, but it's not because of this pumping bullshit.

2/26/2014 12:15:37 AM

Quote :

"There are plenty of women who stand over a fryer for 90% of an 8.5 hour shift and then get to spend another 6 hours stocking shelves at their second job. They get no benefits, no maternity leave, and if their children get sick, they can't care for them without possibly losing their jobs and definitely losing their pay. Being a working mother is hard, but it's not because of this pumping bullshit."

birth control and good decision making are two reasonable ways to avoid this situation.

2/26/2014 7:33:58 AM

grab a laptop and work remotely from the break room to preempt her hostile takeover of it

2/26/2014 8:18:38 AM

hey guys, your hint that you are on the wrong side of this is that aaronburro has a more progressive position than you

2/26/2014 8:19:20 AM

On an hour long call yesterday, introducing someone in a different office to the project I've been working on for the past year.

Spend ~15 minutes at the beginning of the call going over a concept that she'd asked me about the day before in great detail.

Fast forward 45 minutes, she asks me a question about the thing I'd spent 15 minutes earlier talking about, making it abundantly clear that she hadn't been paying attention at all.




[Edited on February 26, 2014 at 8:27 AM. Reason : red x]

2/26/2014 8:23:57 AM

welcome to everyone i ever talk to

i really wish i only did development, and didn't have to do support as well

2/26/2014 8:28:26 AM

Quote :

"There are plenty of women who stand over a fryer for 90% of an 8.5 hour shift and then get to spend another 6 hours stocking shelves at their second job. They get no benefits, no maternity leave, and if their children get sick, they can't care for them without possibly losing their jobs and definitely losing their pay. Being a working mother is hard, but it's not because of this pumping bullshit."

Apples to oranges. No one is sitting here saying "I'm a working mother, woe is me, and no one has it worse." What we are saying is that pumping is challenging without shitty attitudes from coworkers and managers. Now, just out of spite, I hope she's really sitting in there turning her pump on for noise and reading a book and stopped doing the breastmilk thing weeks ago.

Also, every post I have made on this topic has been either while pumping or nursing. I declare myself resident pumping expert.

2/26/2014 8:56:38 AM

This is one of the many reasons my boss has decided he will never hire a woman again I suppose

2/26/2014 9:15:48 AM

Yall have convinced me, she shouldn't have to do it in the bathroom. However, she could be more considerate about it by posting a schedule or having a conversation with her co-workers about the situation or sending out an email or something. And can't she basically choose her schedule and then stick to it? Couldn't she do it at 1:00 or 1:30 everyday so it wouldn't interfere with all of her co-workers lunches?

2/26/2014 9:19:45 AM

perhaps you should be asking her these things

2/26/2014 9:23:16 AM

It would make sense to me to have some sort of schedule. Whether she chooses it or a manager, that should be easy enough to implement.

2/26/2014 9:34:46 AM

My work puts out a monthly schedule. As of right now, March hasn't been posted yet. How the fuck am I supposed to plan for an entire month with 2 days notice?

2/26/2014 9:37:54 AM

Quote :

"Beethoven: Apples to oranges. No one is sitting here saying "I'm a working mother, woe is me, and no one has it worse." What we are saying is that pumping is challenging without shitty attitudes from coworkers and managers. Now, just out of spite, I hope she's really sitting in there turning her pump on for noise and reading a book and stopped doing the breastmilk thing weeks ago."

I mentioned the woman who actually has it hard because you guys are acting like boob pain and leaking on your blouse is some hellish condition (it's not a big deal, and you know it). And you're also all spewing nonsense about how pumping in a restroom is going to hurt your baby.

To be clear, I am on board with lactation rooms and pumping in the break room. Where all of you lost me is when you insisted that the restroom was not an appropriate place to pump. Of course, I don't think someone should have to pump in the restroom, but the moment y'all started saying it wasn't acceptable to do so, you became liars. Big, fat liars.

Anyway, the break room is a fine place to pump, and there are plenty of ways for her to work that out that don't involve inconveniencing the whole office to "make a point."

The restroom is also a fine place to pump, and I wish someone would be honest about that. Again, I'm not saying she should have to use the restroom to pump, but someone please be willing to admit that it's okay to pump in there. If you can't do that, then you're full of shit.

2/26/2014 9:47:35 AM

I have pumped in a restroom once, and will never, ever, do it again. It is not an acceptable place to pump. Breastmilk is food for baby, and it shouldn't be prepared in a bathroom. Just the air in the bathroom is ripe with infectious particles. Much less any surface you touch.

And why don't you just admit that maybe, just maybe, the nursing/pumping moms might know more about this than you do?

[Edited on February 26, 2014 at 9:54 AM. Reason : ]

2/26/2014 9:54:15 AM

2/26/2014 9:55:49 AM

Plenty of women do pump in bathrooms, but you probably can't go into a bathroom, wash your hands, go into a stall, close the door, get out your shit and get undressed without technically getting your hands dirty again. my friend was pumping in the bathroom of a glorified high school we were stuck in for a few weeks, but she was just throwing that milk away. made sense to me, given how many people in our group that i observed not washing their hands even a little bit.

2/26/2014 9:57:26 AM

Quote :

"Yall have convinced me, she shouldn't have to do it in the bathroom. However, she could be more considerate about it by posting a schedule or having a conversation with her co-workers about the situation or sending out an email or something. And can't she basically choose her schedule and then stick to it? Couldn't she do it at 1:00 or 1:30 everyday so it wouldn't interfere with all of her co-workers lunches?"

Exactly. Yesterday people sitting around waiting for 20 minutes to access their lunch.

2/26/2014 9:59:30 AM

Quote :

"Breastmilk is food for baby, and it shouldn't be prepared in a bathroom."

There's a difference in making a sandwich in a bathroom, and eating a sandwich in a bathroom.

[Edited on February 26, 2014 at 10:15 AM. Reason : oh, so the baby isn't there, haha whoops]

2/26/2014 10:02:07 AM

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.pdf

Quote :

"Employers are required to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” Employers are also required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”"

Quote :

"A bathroom, even if private, is not a permissible location under the Act"

Even the government realizes that bathrooms aren't good places to pump milk.

Please tell me more about how a room where one can expect to find fecal matter and urine is safe to commence an activity that requires such clean equipment and safe handling.

2/26/2014 10:03:02 AM

Maybe the rule has to do with building codes and not sanitation since it doesn't specify

All buildings are required to have X number of bathrooms per square feet. Whereas only companies with 50+ employees are required to have the specific breast pumping room

[Edited on February 26, 2014 at 10:08 AM. Reason : .]

2/26/2014 10:04:27 AM

Quote :

"And why don't you just admit that maybe, just maybe, the nursing/pumping moms might know more about this than you do?"

Many women have pumped and continue to pump in the restroom. I understand why someone wouldn't want to do it, and I wouldn't want to force someone to do it. But you can't say it's unacceptable. That's a lie.

^^They are trying to force employers to acknowledge their employees at a level above "you have to sit in the bathroom while you do your weird tit stuff." They are not saying it's unsanitary.

2/26/2014 10:15:39 AM

Oh yeah, i guess I missed that part in the FAQ that explains the intent of the law and clearly spells out that bathrooms are a no-no because it's dehumanizing, and that they are in fact perfectly acceptable environments to prepare food in.

Or maybe I'm missing something here. I guess you're the next Ina May and have written the book on breastfeeding and pumping.

2/26/2014 10:29:09 AM