I read Nancy Jo's post questioning whether pumping in public might be
another hurdle we need to get over and I had to add my anecdotes regarding
"pumping pioneers". In my practice I had a mom who lived here in the Boston
area but had a business in New York City. Three months after her baby was
born she arranged her schedule to allow her to take care of business in New
York two days a week; she commuted to NYC and back by train -- a 4 hour
journey each direction. She carried an electric breastpump with her.
Initially she tried to pump in the tiny train toilets. For several reasons
this was not workable. In a fit of frustration she conspired to pump in her
train seat. She was surprised to discover that no one seemed to notice --
or, if they did, no one said anything. Pumping became a regular part of her
commute for several months, and she says that it was quite easy once she got
the hang of wearing clothes that "worked" with her activities.

Since then several people have mentioned seeing women pumping in their
airplane seats.

Another woman in my practice had a frustrating time on one long business
trip as she tried to find a gas station that had a bathroom where she could
plug in her pump. After several unsuccessful stops she pulled into a
restaurant (a chain known in US for pancakes and coffee). There she found
yet another bathroom plug that didn't work. An employee who happened to be
in the bathroom spoke to the restaurant manager about the problem, and the
manager cordoned off a corner booth and ran an extension cord to the table
so this woman could pump. She got a meal to boot. Although she was afforded
some privacy it was not deemed necessary to "hide" her, and the staff served
her whilst she went about her pumping.

Not too long ago a woman attended one of our Breastfeeding Mom's groups and
decided to use a tandem pump during the meeting. It made sense, since she
came to the meeting during her lunch break. I have to admit that I found
myself a little taken aback as she matter-of-factly started pumping "in full
view" of the group. In actuality, it provided a welcome opportunity to
discuss the option of using a pump to continue lactation after returning to
work, and I think every woman in the room was a bit in awe of the "brave"
pumper. It certainly put the issue of being awkward about
merely breastfeeding in public in perspective.

I will confess that I don't know if I would be able to be a pump pioneer;
but in my heart I feel like we (as a society) should "get over it" and stop
being so silly about what is, really, a mundane activity (albeit a valuable
one). I mean, if the culture can accept simulated plastic breasts  (bottles)
being waved about IN PUBLIC...

Margery Wilson, IBCLC
Cambridge, MA
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