Being on jury duty for 6 weeks was a small eye opener of what it was like to be a nursing mother and being away from my child. The court was happy to give me breaks to pump, but many times it was on their schedule. While I could’ve easily pumped 3 times during the day, which is how often my son would eat, I was typically only “allowed” to pump twice. Read below on your rights that Bravado! has graciously put together for us.
Are you going back to work? Do you have friends or family who are going back to work? Do you have coworkers returning from maternity leave? When the new Healthcare Reform was passed last March hidden it it is a policy that effects every working breastfeeding mother. With this, all employers with 50+ employees are required to comply with this new legislation.
As a breastfeeding mother, you have the right to:
Take the time to pump: You are entitled to be given breaks as needed to pump at work until your baby’s first birthday.
Private space to pump: Pump in the bathroom stall no longer! Your employer must provide you with a private space to pump other than a restroom.
A Breastfeeding Policy: All employers must provide you with a lactation policy. Don’t have one? A great resource to provide your employers with is this: Five Simple Steps to Create and Implement a Breastfeeding Policy in the Workplace .
Know your rights and help spread the word to bring awareness of this reform to all women. Looking for more great tips on going back to work? Check out 12 Tips for Nursing Mothers Preparing to Go Back to Work.
Thanks for this article, it is nice to know your rights.
Jury Duty sure doesn’t work with people who have
other problems. They won’t let you go into the
court house with liquids, but with a choaking disorder I need to take at least 40 ounces of warm,
not hot, not cold, not room temperature water with me everywhere I go.
Thankfully I did not have to do Jury Duty after all,
but no thanks to the Doctor at Ft. Carson who wouldn’t give me an excuse to get out of it with all my health problems.
She’s uncaring and in my opinion has no right to be a Doctor at all.