Breastfeeding at work

Nurses General Nursing

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I don't know if this subject has already been discussed before or not. Do hospitals accomodate nursing nurses? Have any of you been able to pump at work without hassle? I ask because I plan on having a couple of more kids once I start working as an RN but I don't want to sacrifice breastfeeding them at all. Let me know your experiences. Thanks.

Thanks for all the input! I never thought of pumping down in the nursery of the hospital or somewhere around that area. Makes sense to me. The hospital I work at has to accomodate breastfeeding workers or they can forget having me as an employee! My baby comes first.

Almost everytime I pumped I went to OB and borrowed one of their rooms. If they were busy I hid behind a screen in the nursery. If they were full I was able to go to medsurg and borrow a room. Everyone was willing to help.

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Specializes in LTC, med-surg, peds.

I am soooo glad hospitals are so accomodating!

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Specializes in cardiology-now CTICU.

doing it right now! i pump once on an 8 hr, at least once (sometimes twice) on 12 hr. it's really a 15 min. break. so if that is your break for the shift, i don't see how anyone can complain about a co-worker taking 30 minutes of break time in a 12 hr shift. but don't get me started on martyr marys who don't take breaks lol! the hospital has a pump room but it's in another building so i use the conference rm (on noc's). if you have problems, i'd try gently reminding mgmt and HR that you are entitled to a break every shift- whether you use it to eat or pump is your business!

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

Thats why I haven't returned to work yet. My baby is 7 months old. I work in a small rural hospital, Everything on one floor. The staffing is horrid, so if I were to take a break, it would leave the other nurse with up to 20 pts by herself. I know she would do it, but its not fair to her to work like that when I disappear two times a shift for 20 minutes each time. There is also no where to pump other than the employee bathroom. All of the offices are locked on night shift and rarely is there an empty room. But its just a sink and toilet that men and women share, (no multiple stalls) and what if someone has to use the bathroom? And Im hogging it for 20 minutes? The break room is where the photo copy machine is and where a lot of paper work is done. So so much for privacy! I will return when weaned, since I don't want to start a job elsewhere on the conditions they meet my demands to pump.

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.

It's not about being a "Martyr Mary," it's about people who take multiple breaks and the rest of us who get stuck covering, then the break folks never seem to have the time to reciprocate or we who cover don't have any time left to take a break til we're done covering for eveyone else.

Theoretically, other nurses could have to cover for several years if a nurse decides to have several children and BF. And I'm sorry, but I have gotten tired of covering for people who can't do things because they're thinking about getting pregnant, TTC, are pregnant, are breastfeeding, etc.

And then you're covering for the smokers, too. It's funny how everyone always says they're only gone for "a few minutes." Yeah, right.

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