Letters to the Editor
domini
Published Letters: 1162 Editor's Choice: 79
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Velora, you owe pwoplw an apology, and Salon should take the star back
[Read the article: Why the barista can't breast-feed]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If you have to plug in an electric double breast pump, there is no electric socket in most stalls (including handicapped ones), and nowhere sanitary to set the pump itself down. There is no where sanitary to place the milk bottles while you change battle to do the second breast (which must be done, or it hurts like HELL!). There is no where sanitary to place the freezer bad to hold the full milk bottles while you pump, because one hand holds the pump in place and the other (on a manual pump) is depressing and pulling a plunger to suck the milk out). Do you really want people to put the milk bottles and ther freezer bags on the floor, or the suction nozzle (which fits on the breast) on the floor as you change bottles, or rebutton up and dress? Don't foregt, you have to unlatch the shirt and the maternity bra somewhere in this process.
If you do not pump, you will leak. It will go down your shirt and put big wet circles over both nipples, because the amount will be more than any breast pad was meant to hold. If you don't pump, your breasts feel like there are huge aching rocks in them pressing on a sharp nerve. Do it a few times too often, and you can get mastisis, an infection of the milk glads. Don't use sanitary equipment, you can get mastisis and black milk glands, both of which lead to pain, fever, and sometimes flu like symptoms. Give the baby unsanitary milk, and you can kill it. The real reason breastfeeding is good is it limits the intestinal problems which can kill some babies in the first six months. The rest is hyperbole.
I have pumped in a stall, both handicapped and regular. It is not possible to keep it sanitary. Some handicap stalls are not that big (try McDonalds) and it is illegal to put tables in them because it would block access. The small pull down shelf is not big enough.
A chair in a bathroom is often hard to get. I often had to drag a chair into the bathroom during church to breastfeed. In a small bathroom, there's not enough room.
A small breast pump is at least 12 inches long and 2-4 inches wide. The best manual pump (because it does not hurt,a nd the others hurt like hell) is the Evenflo, and that thing has a huge bell for the suction. The best electric double pump is a Medela which is the size of an oversized sized hard sided doublelaptop case or a hard sided double briefcase. If is not small at all. I don't think you have a realistic idea of how big this stuff is, how involved it is, how many pieces you put together (Bell to pump to bottle on a manual- or two bells to two connectors to 2 long tubes to two small male connectors on the main pump to the electric cord or battery pack). A battery operated pump is slow (an hour to empty). A Medela is 15-20 minutes for both breasts. A manual is up to an hour. Do you really want people in a one or two stall bathroom using it for up to an hour? What about the others?
Luckily, I was a moo cow (two bottles per breast, them put in bottles, them placed in storage bags for freezing. Unluckily, I was just in my tenure year, and my university system interprets the FMLA to mean that I was an essential employee who is exempt, and therefore able to be forced back with accomodations. My accomodation was 20 minutes to pump between 2 one and a half hour classes after a leave of three weeks post birth. I leaked, which is embarrassing but liveable. Anyone who criticized was roundly told off by other mothers, thank God.
Velora, you owe the others an apology. You really don't know the facts on this. Some companies allow the use of unused storage space or conference rooms. The need for a pump and a table as well as running water is essential. It can be done, if companies are willing to treat people as people, and not as expendable units. Some things are more important than the corporate profit in this world. I think babies' health is more important. Breast feeding cuts down on employee absenteeism from infants' illness, and it helps protect the mother's health as well.
I put a place to brest feed with having a non-smoking entrance into a building in terms of "right to access" and "health protection".
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The health of all children is more important than corporate profit
[Read the article: Why the barista can't breast-feed]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This country was created to promote the life, liberty, and happiness of the inhabitants, NOT corporate profits. Corporate profits are not mentioned in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Corporations were not even allowed to lobby government until the late 1890s, because they were not seen as a "collective individual". Corporations are allowed limited liability through incorporation to "promote the public good". When they don't, they can be destroyed by governmental action.
There is not right to profit. But the health of country's children impacts everything. Therefore, children's health trumps corporate profits.
As for Velora, pumping in a bathroom is a desperate last resort. It is physically painful and unhygenic. That you have so little empathy, or ability to even comprehend it, is sad. Have you ever been in pain? To pump "late" is to be in physical pain. If you think that's ok, something is seriously wrong here. I'm reminded of sitting in a woman's studies class as a guest in the 80s, and the little naive wenches going on about how their mothers could not balance motherhood and childhood, but that was their own choice, they would not have those problems. Their lack of experience with just how hard it was made it easy to pontificate.
You have no experience with this. You really don't know how hard it is.