Registered User
I'm feeling a bit emotional right now so I'd have to say that I would cry thinking that someone had taken my babies milk
Registered User
The ABA FB page had a thread on hints for returning to work, and one of them was, if you only have communal fridges, to store your EBM and expressing gear in a small wet bag. Gives you a bit of privacy, and less likely people will touch it accidently.
It sucks that you can't trust people. Hope you feel ok.
Registered User
I would react in a very similar way to you I think. While I would be extremely angry that it had happened, I'd be inclined just to let the whole issue go and not say anything. That's the "I hate conflict" part of me. I'd sit at home and fume about it, but probably do nothing about it.
I just can't believe that they could even think it was ok to do something like that. I'm assuming that they did actually do it, because it seems extremely unlikely that it was confused for cows milk. Sounds like a bunch of guys that had absolutely zero brain function at the time of pulling a prank, because surely even guys with no children would realise that breastmilk it a body fluid and NOT a toy!
Registered User
Double post, oops
Last edited by ~ Mylitta ~; August 29th, 2011 at 08:09 PM.
Registered User
I'm quite sure that if I do raise the issue of a health risk related to BM I will be told that it cannot be stored in a communal fridge - the only fridge available at any branch. Never mind that there is only a risk if someone decides to consume it.
DD is comp fed formula, as I struggle with supply after breast reduction surgery. Since she has started solids she has minimal FF and mainly BF. The loss of that milk meant two more FF, two less BM feeds!
ETA I will buy a little cooler bag to keep the bottle in once it is in the fridge. I have to carry my gear around with me as I don't stay at the site I work from but come and go and express when I find an appropriate place at the right time. It means carrying even more gear, but I think it's a good idea.
Last edited by nickle730; August 29th, 2011 at 08:16 PM.
Registered User
I'd be pretty peeved also, it's one thing to think it was funny and want to play a practical joke on someone (if that's what happned with it) but it wasn't theirs to touch!!!!! Surely in communal fridges it would be common knowledge that you only touch what is yours.
In my opinion it's really wrong.
Registered User
I'm pretty sure that with all the pro-breastfeeding laws, workplaces probably have to have a place where you can store breastmilk at work...
Registered User
They can't tell you that you can't put it in the fridge, thats discrimination. You are an employee, they provide a fridge how is it your fault that some stupid person stole your BM. If thats the case i would take it further because really they cannot do that. And i would bring up that your DD had to miss out on a feed because of someone else. It should NOT be turned around back onto you.
I'm quite sure that if I do raise the issue of a health risk related to BM I will be told that it cannot be stored in a communal fridge - the only fridge available at any branch. Never mind that there is only a risk if someone decides to consume it.
DD is comp fed formula, as I struggle with supply after breast reduction surgery. Since she has started solids she has minimal FF and mainly BF. The loss of that milk meant two more FF, two less BM feeds!
Registered User
They could not tell you to not use the fridge, that's a human rights violation
2011 BellyBelly RAK Recipient.
wow I can't believe anyone would waste your BM like that, it's your babies food!! So inappropriate. I would feel angry, and would take it further. If nothing is said there is nothing stopping them from doing it again. 200mls! I have so much trouble expressing, I expressed 125mls today and that's the most I have ever gotten, just imaging that being wasted actually makes me feel ill.
Registered User
I'd be making a formal complaint. I find it very difficult to believe that it was an accident. So practical joke or deliberate action, it's theft of your baby's sustainence.
That's not on.
I understand your milk wasn't labelled - but c'mon, the milk was in a bottle, and not a milk carton, and was clearly not their milk. Surely it's not policy at your work that it's ok to steal each others' food?
Also, I hate to say it but my first thought was that perhaps someone thinks it's "gross" for your boob juice to be in the fridge, and so they've piffed it out to make the point.
I sincerely hope that isn't it, but either which way my view remains: it's theft, it's not ok, I'd be making a complaint and sussing out what your employee is required to provide you - not because you're necessarily going to demand it all, but so that if there is any negativity towards you, you know what your entitlements are.
Also, check out what employers are required to provide for lactating mothers - in some states, employers are *required* to provide breaks, a quiet location with running water, use of a fridge, etc...
Registered User
Me too!! I know how hard it is to express milk, 200 mls, that's a great effort. I would be mightily peeved off...how dare they!! Immature twits!!I'm feeling a bit emotional right now so I'd have to say that I would cry thinking that someone had taken my babies milk
BellyBelly Member
what poo heads
i would be putting a sign on the fridge door
"to the people that drank the milk in the babies bottle in the fridge the other day- you drank breastmilk that could have possibly be contaminated! Please come go and get yourself checked by a doctor!"
might be enough for them to cack their pants and go see a doctor who will hopefully scare the crap out of them and give them a stern talking to!!
Joke back on them i say!!
Registered User
Haha thats a great reply!!!!!
BellyBelly Member
I suppose for future reference, it would be good to label the bottle but I don't see why it should really be an issue. It was milk, in a baby's bottle and it seems pretty obvious that the other staff knew what it was. Even if they didn't, they touched something that didn't belong to them and I don't see how any of this is your responsibility. You put milk in the fridge at work and you are within your rights to do this. If your workplace wanted you to label it, it is their responsibility to let you know that. You did nothing wrong and you have every right to be upset about what happened. You also have every right to complain to HR and they are not allowed to make your workplace more uncomfortable for you as a result of your complaint. They have to take your complaint seriously and handle it reasonable. One of the outcomes might be that you are required to label your milk in future, but they can't ignore your complaint or hold you responsible because it was not labelled.
In doing what they did, they made your workplace unsafe for you and unsafe for the other people. It is possible that someone who was given the breast milk may still make a complaint. They were also violated - not by you at all - but they are also withing their rights to make a complaint.
I understand that it is difficult to make a complaint, especially if you are in a very male dominated workplace. I just want you to know that you do have rights. Whether you choose to use your rights or not is up to you, but be aware that you have them.
You could actually probably get a payout from work for what happened to you because it is harrassment. Whether it was intended to be harrassment or not is beside the point. If you contact a lawyer that specialises in workplace injuries, I think you probably have a very good case. It's probably not a road you want to go down either, but it is your right and I think you need to be aware.
You are a victim in this situation. You did nothing wrong and you have every right to be livid. Don't feel bad about where the milk was stored, how it was stored or that it wasn't labelled. They did the wrong thing regardless of these issues and you need to know that
BellyBelly Member
I think that the best option is to assume that it was "cleaning out the strange thing in the fridge". And label it - always. Or put it in a zip-lock bag with your name on it. Or put it in the freezer (because in office fridges no-one ever looks in there).
I used to be very unsubtle, and put a big zip-lock bag containing the bottle of milk and the milky pump bits in the fridge - noone ever investigated that!
Expressing at work shouldn't be traumatic - but save your fire for when you really need it and when they can actually do something to help. There's nothing anyone can do to "fix" this present problem.
hugs
Kate
BellyBelly Member
I agree that nothing can be done to undo what has happened, but it doesn't change the fact that it has violated people, made the workplace unsafe and it is against the law. Lots of actions taken in retrospect never "fix" the problem but it can prevent it from happening again. The milk was in a baby's bottle. I am not sure that a zip lock bag with a name will stop people from touching it. If they opened a baby bottle of milk, they are willing to cross boundaries. At the very least, they need it pointed out to them that behaviour was completely unacceptable. It won't undo it, but it can save a lot of drama in future. Next time, it might not work out so well if the BM they steal belongs to someone who has Hep B and doesn't know it or any number of other variable that could go wrong.
I think you have to handle the situation however you feel comfortable, but this is worth standing up for yourself over, if that is what you want to do.
BellyBelly Member
You just need to be careful here - there is probably an OHSE policy which requires human milk to be labelled and you may actually end up being the one in the pooh.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks