Strollerderby
You know I'm all about the breastfeeding. I like to think I support all things boob and breastmilky. And I do, I really do. But we all have our challenges, our things to get over. Pumping in public is mine.
But not Christen Clifford's. She rather likes to pump in public, or at least has no problem doing it. The nursing soldat in me says "Kudos! Kudos to you and your battery operated Evenflo, Christen!" The more squeamish side of me is blushing and quickly looking away.
Clifford writes that she first pumped in public on the subway after a long meeting. She could no longer endure her engorged breasts, so she popped out her boob and latched on her handheld with one hand, held on to the pole with the other. People stared. Her nipple was visible through the clear plastic shell, the steady spray of milk no doubt audible. This wasn't ideal, she acknowledges. Nonetheless, she was hooked (up).
Next, she tells us she pumped at theatre bar during intermission.From HuffPo:
It wasn't the ideal place to be squeezing out human milk, but I tried to remember that it was a part of breastfeeding: if I think women should nurse everywhere (and I do) then we should pump everywhere too.
Fair enough. Still. Ew?
Clifford brings up the much discussed New Yorker article about companies' attempts to make the office more breast-pump friendly. The writer, Jill Lepore, lays out arguments that what the workplace should focus on is longer maternity leaves. Many readers (Clifford included) think Lepore is waging a new battle in the mommy wars: breastmilk from the breast vs. breastmilk from a bottle. Lepore even asks "who would want to pump in public." Of course, we know Clifford's answer to that.
As for me, no thanks, but I'll keep an open mind. Go for it, public pumpers. If you need me for a pump-in, I'll charge up the Medela, go sit on a sidewalk and suck it up (and out). But I won't be public-pumping on my own any time soon. Not because I shouldn't, but because I just don't want to. In the high stakes breastfeeding competition, I have been bested (breasted?).
What about you? Is public pumping no worse than blowing your nose in the middle of a crowd or is this mother out of control?
Photo: milkend.com
More Posts
Smackdown: Damned if You Do, Doomed if You Don't (Breastfeed, That is)
Milking It: I Breastfed My Daughter Until She Was Nearly 4
