Question about pumping at work.

momma/babyrn · Jun 15, 2008

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'll let you know how it goes. I imagine that with how busy things get, I'll only be pumping during my lunch break. ... just a feeling I have. I don't want to deal with bad attitudes from colleagues about taking breaks to do this so if it's during my lunch break maybe they'll be okay with it. Thankfully it's only 3 out of the 7 days a week. Maybe my supply won't be too vastly depleted.

LadyJRN1 · Jun 15, 2008

I'm about to start orientation this week for my new job in mother/baby. I have a 3 month old who I'm exclusively breastfeeding. My question is how will my need to take a break to pump during my 12 hr shift be perceived? I know that sounds weird since I'll be working on a unit that promotes breastfeeding but I was wondering if I should anticipate receiving any negative vibes from coworkers since I'll be using my break time to pump. Anyone else have experience with this?
Thanks in advance!!

I have worked with nurses who pumped and they just excuse themselves and do it in private. We other nurses understood and it was never an issue. Hopefully your co-workers will understand and not make it into a drama scene.

Vito Andolini · Jun 16, 2008

We had a nurse's aide who needed to pray during her work shift and it had to be at very specific times. No matter what, no matter how busy, no matter what emergency was happening, she'd go pray. After a while, people really resented this, even though we all liked her and understood that she was observing her religion and wanted her to be able to do that. Maybe the trouble was largely that she still expected to be able to take other breaks plus her meal break, in addition to the prayer times.

She pointed out that smokers took extra breaks and she was right. I didn't smoke or pray at set times, so was always on duty. Fair? Of course not. But someone had to be working. I did take a 45 minute lunch break but never left the floor and considered myself still very much on duty, as I would often be interruped to handle something that couldn't wait. It was my choice.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Jun 16, 2008

We have had lots of nurses over the years who pumped and never had a problem with it. In fact, when I started working there, I was still pumping for my 10-month old and was very supported. I just had to let people know that's where I was going and that was that.

We have a lactation room with a couple pumps, footstools and sinks to wash stuff with. What a lot of nurses did, though, was go to an empty room or to an unused room of our nursery, put up the partition, and do it there. No problems at all.

Wishing you the best, and congrats for wanting to pump. It can be time consuming but well worth the effort you put into it. :)

rnin02 · Jun 17, 2008

At my hospital its not really much of an issue, I've never seen anyone given anyone else a hard time about needing to pump. As long as you make sure your patients are stable before you leave, I don't see why it would matter that much to your coworkers. As long as you aren't being inconsiderate about it, for example not do a quick check of your patients first, leaving them with lots of needs or issues, it shouldn't be an issue. The biggest problem with pumping at my hospital is finding the room for it...we don't have a dedicated pumping room, so you just have to pray for an empty room or office to pop up.

crysobrn · Jun 18, 2008

We've also had many many women pump at work and never had an issue. Some days there is more time than others though. I'd be upfront when you start and talk to your director just letting him/her know that you are returning to work and you value your ability to breastfeed and explain that you will need to pump a certain number of times a day. I found that the first few months I'd pump twice in a 12 hr shift but by 9-10 mos I didn't even have to pump while working, I'd just nurse right before and right after work and my babies would sleep all night.

I plan to come back part time after this baby (my third) and hope that my dh is able to bring the baby up to nurse at least once during my shift so that I can just nurse once and pump once. We are a smaller unit and don't get to leave the floor for breaks so as long as there isn't a huge emergency it's fine to sneak in a room and pump.

Good luck.

HazeKomp, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2008

how will my need to take a break to pump during my 12 hr shift be perceived? ...I was wondering if I should anticipate receiving any negative vibes from coworkers since I'll be using my break time to pump.

Well, I hope it is going well for you, since this reply is well after your inital posting...

a suggestion: do pay attention to the flow of activity on the unit and "plan ahead" a bit.

We have one "pumping" nurse that seems to always wait until it was time for deliveries, surgeries and suddenly she had to go pump, leaving the rest of us to cover for her. It is a small unit so suddenly loosing 25% of our work force became stressful often enough that resentment did develop over her "pumping" habits. Talk with your charge nurse when you sense you are begining to fill up and will need your break within the hour, so she can plan ahead to cover you... instead of being like our nurse, who would loudly announce at the desk "I have to go now!" and would just disappear for twenty minutes!

Happy "boobing" and congrats on your baby!

momma/babyrn · Jun 22, 2008

Thanks to all for the input. I've been in orientation all week and found that during my lunch break I could go out to my car to pump just once during the day. I'd just sit there in the parking lot with my AC on and the front windshield shade up as well as a blanket over the driver's side window where I was sitting. Worked great for my first week of hospital orientation. I start on the unit this Friday so I plan to keep the same schedule of planning to pump just once during my lunch break. I don't want to be one of those who leaves for a break and all my coworkers are having to cover for me. That is understandably unfair. I'll just see how it goes day to day. There may be some days where I can actually pump twice during my 12 hr shift but I'll plan for just once.

I'll be back to let you know how things go.

thanks again!! :heartbeat

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2008

Why are you going out to your car? Don't they have a place for you to pump inside? They're supposed to.

momma/babyrn · Jun 23, 2008

Hi,

I'm going out to my car to pump b/c I'm still on hospital orientation and haven't started my preceptorship on the unit yet. When I start on the unit this week and get familiar with the people and where things are, I'm sure I'll find a room or place to pump inside. :)

mitchsmom · Jun 23, 2008

Hopefully it will be percieved as being a good role model for other women and patients & the best thing for your baby since that's what it is :)

We have someone pumping right now and it hasn't generally been an issue (although someone had an issue with her breastfeeding the baby at the nurses station on a break and complained to the manager about that... I am going to post a separate thread about that).

As the others said, just get as much squared away patient-wise as you can before you take the break, just as you would for any other break.

mitchsmom · Jun 23, 2008

Hopefully it will be percieved as being a good role model for other women and patients & the best thing for your baby since that's what it is :)
We have someone pumping right now and it hasn't generally been an issue (although someone had an issue with her breastfeeding the baby at the nurses station on a break and complained to the manager about that... I am going to post a separate thread about that).
As the others said, just get as much squared away patient-wise as you can before you take the break, just as you would for any other break.

PS:

If for any reason you or someone else can use it, the Dept of Health and Human Services has put together a nice/informative kit on "The Business Case for Breastfeeding: Steps for creating a breastfeeding friendly worksite" that can be obtained here: http://ask.hrsa.gov/detail.cfm?PubID=MCH00250