Cathy, this one made me chuckle!

"This "unprofessional" thing really bugs the heck out of me sometimes!
Usually what folks mean when they sat that is either 1)you aren't acting
like a banker in a 3-piece suit"

As a refugee from the world of banking, I wore the stupid blue suits and
bow ties AND pumped breastmilk in my office.  Don't assume that the "suits"
are not your friends!

On a more positive note, perhaps the way to improve employers' perceptions
of breastfeeding is to point to the corporations that do a wonderful job
encouraging women.  I am thinking in particular of The St. Paul Companies,
headquartered in St. Paul, MN.  My sister-in-law is an investment officer
there.  They have on-site child care, so she can visit her two daughters
during breaks in the day and have lunch with them.  They have a room
available for moms who wish to pump (I guess the childcare is full and can
be hard to get into, since it is so popular).  Just after my niece was born
last summer, my sister-in-law was able to arrange to work from home some
days each week and bring lovely little Cate with her to the office some
days.  And to top it all off-- mom was promoted about six months after
giving birth and enjoying all this "flexibility" from her employer.  I
realize that these are too often the perks available only to the executive
women, but my impression is that St. Paul Companies is fairly egalitarian
about these benefits, though not every job can be done from home. St. Paul
Companies is listed in the book "100 Best Places For Women to Work."
Perhaps when faced with a breastfeeding-unfriendly employer, you can point
to these companies and perhaps even get info from their human resources
staffs about how these benefits reduce turnover, reduce sick time taken to
care for kids with stuff like ear infections,etc.  Show them that it DOES
work, and it DOES help their bottom line.  That is how you will convince them.

Thankful to be a student wearing jeans again,

Kathleen Bellis
Penn State College of Medicine
Class of 2002

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