Last week the Style section of the New York times published a letter from a reader {mom} who came under fire at her work place for pumping in the office.  To be clear, she was not pumping IN the office, she would do this in the office bathroom or the “pumping closet”.  It was the simple act of having her office mate “see” her pump parts sticking out of her non-descript black bag, that had HR running a frenzy to try and put a stop to this. 

“I share an office with someone who works from home many days a week.  I have a pump in a black bag.  I had the bag on the floor, but not fully under my desk, top part unzippered so that empty bottles were visible.  This resulted in a complaint to HR by my office mate (with whom I have a superficially friendly relationship) that it made her uncomfortable.  She wants to not have to see the black bag because it grosses her out.” {excerpt from “Offended by an Office Breast Pump”, NY Times}  – You can read the rest of the article here.

As a mom who works in an office full-time, this really struck home with me.  I nurse my son exclusively, and given that breast feeding is so important and becoming quite the hot-political-issue, I am honestly SHOCKED that there are moms out there who are coming under fire for pumping!! 

I also have the non-descript black pumping bag, I also pump in the bathroom, rinse the parts in the communal sink, and have my bag on the shelf in my cubicle…that’s right, I don’t even HAVE AN OFFICE!  My experience thus far has been great.  I have not received one complaint, one dirty look or snide remark.  On the contrary, most of my colleagues {which I should add are male…and probably reading this right now!} have been really supportive…and by supportive I mean, they don’t really talk about it and don’t really acknowledge what I’m doing, as I walk by their desks with my little black bag and show up 10min late for lunches.

I think I would be really offended if  someone had complained about seeing my bag, or me rinsing my pump in the bathroom sink…especially given that I often hear the most vile noises coming from various bathroom stalls.  And then there is always the ever-horrid hacking followed by the detestable loogie launch into the sink some persons feel is necessary.  Or the persons who REFUSE to wash their hands after they go to the washroom {you know who you are!}.  How is PUMPING any more offensive than what I just described?!  Funny enough, you don’t hear complaints to HR about THOSE people!

I would love to hear any stories about your personal experiences with this?!  What do YOU think?

{From the top:  Image viaCoghill Cartooning’s Photostream / Images via Escaping to My Happy Place}