Boss Tells Employee To Stop Breastfeeding At The Office Nursery Because It's 'Embarrassing' Other Staff Members
"I’m basically being forced to wean."
SeventyFour | Shutterstock Around 80% of new mothers in the United States breastfeed their children and about 60% of new moms are in the workforce. This inevitably means that moms must breastfeed or pump while working.
Yet one woman was told by her boss that she was no longer allowed to do so.
The woman was told by her boss to stop breastfeeding at the office nursery because it 'embarrassed' other staff members.
The 29-year-old daycare center employee wrote in a Reddit post that one day while breastfeeding her son in the nursery, her boss barged in to deliver some shocking news.
“She informed me that feeding my son embarrassed other staff members and it was no longer allowed at my workplace,” the woman wrote. “Should I have to continue, it would only be allowed within my 30-minute lunch break.”
SeventyFour | Shutterstock
The woman’s boss also ridiculed her for not “helping” care for the other children in the nursery while she was busy feeding her son.
"I’m basically being forced to wean and at the end of the conversation they said, 'no discrimination though,' she added. "Is there any coming back from this or is it best to just walk?"
The woman noted that she works at an "all-female workplace" and was also forbidden from pumping breast milk during the workday.
Despite her boss's claims, the woman likely has a discrimination case.
Commenters urged the woman to quit her job and seek legal help to bust her company for discrimination.
“That is 1000% workplace discrimination," one Reddit user insisted. "Just because they say it isn’t, doesn’t make it true. You shouldn’t be forced to wean your child."
“I would email so there is written documentation, her documenting what happened and your desire to not wean. And then check your local laws around discrimination in the workplace," another commenter suggested.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act amended by the Affordable Care Act nursing mothers in the U.S. have the right to breastfeed or pump at the workplace in a private room other than a restroom. Employers must provide their nursing employees with appropriate break times to feed or pump milk as necessary.
In a comment, the Redditor clarified that she is located in Australia where, like in the U.S., breastfeeding is a legally protected right. According to the Australia Breastfeeding Association, "It is generally against the law to refuse to make arrangements for you to breastfeed at work."
Abruptly stopping breastfeeding can also have negative side effects for the mother and child.
Despite this workplace's expectation that the woman immediately stops nursing at work, weaning is ideally done over time.
"If you stop breastfeeding abruptly, you will likely experience engorgement and leaking for the first few days/weeks until your hormones adapt to the sudden change," naturopathic doctor and fertility strategist Dr. Jessica Dupont told The Belle Method.
"With engorgement can come clogged ducts, which if left untreated can lead to mastitis (an infection of the breast)," Dupont explained.
The Redditor also noted that her son is "rejecting a lot of foods right now" since his teeth are coming in slowly and painfully. Weaning prematurely would only hurt the child and mother.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.