Does your workplace offer a private space to pump?

**Maruschke** · July 20th, 2012, 01:44 PM

Just curious how many workplaces have a space you can go to, in order to pump during your lunch hour?

If they didn't have this space, what have you done / where have you gone?

I'll be travelling via train (so I can't go back to my car) and taking my pump, bottles and an ice pack with me in a freezer bag, along with a modesty wrap.

**Novella** · July 20th, 2012, 01:56 PM

I work in a large public hospital and we are lucky enough to have a small staff breastfeeding room with TV, fridge and lounge suites to pump in. There can be more than one person in there feeding or pumping at a time. We are also able to use the hospitals pumps but need to provide our own attatchements/storage containers. Up until the baby is 12 months old we are also entitled to take up to another 30 minutes paid break per 8 hour shift to express/feed. I never needed to take all this extra time but an extra 15 mintues meant I got to pump twice while at work and have a hot meal.

Have you checked the ABA's website? I think they have a booklet on your rights in regards to breastfeeding and work. i think your employer has a responsibility to provide you with a clean private space to feed or express.

Good luck going back to work.

**Maruschke** · July 20th, 2012, 02:05 PM

Thanks Sarah. Sounds like your situation is ideal for pumping! Not sure what mine would be like but I've send an email to HR asking about available space etc.

**LimeSlice** · July 20th, 2012, 02:16 PM

If I had returned to work after my mat leave, no there wasn't - I would have been pumping in a booth in the restaurant (not going to happen! lol) or the toilets. There was simply nowhere else to do it.

**HotI** · July 20th, 2012, 02:55 PM

I had a small room that was also used as a client changing room. I used to sit on the floor with my back to the door. I was only working 1 to 2 days a week and only had to pump once a day. If it was more that that i would have tried to organise something more comfortable.

**RhiChiChi** · July 20th, 2012, 04:14 PM

yes, we do. We have a dedicated 'wellness' room that can be used to anything personal - ie: expressing (although there is no fridge), making personal phone calls, having a rest. There is even a sharps container in there - I guess if you are diabetic and need to administer insulin etc...

**sepata** · July 20th, 2012, 08:32 PM

My work has been really good. We have a parents room on a different level for pumping feeding etc. i go down on my two tea breaks, which are meant to be 10 mins each but my boss doesn't mind the extra time it takes me to pump.

Excuse my sucky spelling, I'm on my iPhone

**peanutter** · July 20th, 2012, 11:14 PM

My work is pretty good about it.

I take two breaks a day (three, if I'm working particularly late) and I take about an hour each time to relax for a few minutes, express, bag up the milk, and clean my gear.

I make up the time, and am not working any less because of it! But I take it, and generally no one other than my secretary interrupts me and she only does so by phone, and if I don't want to answer I don't.

In my old office, there were floor to ceiling window-walls with no covers... so an empty office used for storage was reorganised and set up with a comfy chair etc, for me to use.

My current office has frosted glass to the internal doors, and the outside windows aren't on the ground floor, so I just express at my desk. It's feasible that there's people sitting on the other side of the road watching me and having a perv, but it's unlikely and I certainly haven't noticed anyone sitting there looking out, so I just get on with it. I wear a pashmina as a scarf most days, and could always use that if I felt the need

I clean up the pump etc in the kitchen sink, and I store my milk in the staff room fridge/freezer. Some people might think it's odd or gross, but no one has said boo to me, and I imagine nothing will change on that front.

I also catch the train, and I have a little Avent travel bag, and I put the milk in the freezer once it's pumped. The morning pump is always frozen by the time I go home, and it keeps the afternoon pump cold on the hour home!

If ever I'm out all day, I organise a pumping station (!) in advance. Have had to do this for conferences, mediations, court trials and more. I've never been unable to organise something. The only real difference is I take a microwave steriliser to use as a drying rack inside my wheely case, I take LOTS of paper towels, and I pack frozen primas into my freezy bag to make and keep the milk chilled until I can get to a fridge/freezer.

HTH.

**Tuesday's Child** · July 21st, 2012, 01:44 PM

My work doesn't have a dedicated pumping/feeding room, but did offer me the use of any offices whose occupants were away. If no offices were available I suppose I could have booked one of the two meeting rooms and put upa private sign. But since I mostly worked in a different building to the rest of my department, I chose to express in the (much closer) computer server room. At least the sound of the servers drowned out the drone of the pump and it was nice and cold in the summer.

Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk 2

**Maruschke** · July 21st, 2012, 03:21 PM

My work doesn't have a dedicated pumping/feeding room, but did offer me the use of any offices whose occupants were away. If no offices were available I suppose I could have booked one of the two meeting rooms and put upa private sign. But since I mostly worked in a different building to the rest of my department, I chose to express in the (much closer) computer server room. At least the sound of the servers drowned out the drone of the pump and it was nice and cold in the summer.

Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk 2

I will remember to ask about the computer server room. But I'm shy about taking an electric pump because it sounds like a vibrator on overdrive.

**peanutter** · July 22nd, 2012, 12:05 AM

I have found that people can't really hear the pump much from outside of the room.

Or possibly if you're worried, can you take a little transistor radio to cover up the noise?

It wouldn't take much to drown it out.