Sophie Currier, a Harvard medical student unsuccessfully sued the National Board of Examiners because she felt that the 45 minute rest period between exams wasn't enough time for her to express her milk and that it violated her "constitutional right to breastfeed".
The judge feels that she could pump during the test or at the scheduled breaks and that considering that the test is available several times a year, she could also take it after she has finished needing to express. He bases this decision on the fact that regardless of what she thinks of the conditions, she could still pass. Sophie's lawyer on the other hand thinks that "the judge decided it's OK to tell women to wait until they are done being moms to become professionals, which as far as I'm concerned is not acceptable in this day and age."
I don't know what type of pump that this is woman is using and how much milk she has in her boobs, but if she can't get her milk out of her boobs in that time, how much time does she think that she needs? I know that my Medela Swing Pump and I have a love/hate relationship (mostly stemming from laziness) but I have never needed to pump for 45 minutes and I can eat, change the channel, and even do a spot of Sudoku or Kakuro if I feel like it. Considering that she's going into the medical profession where you earn mega bucks, has she considered buying a better expresser?
As for pumping during the test, am I to assume that she's not in an exam hall full of people because breastfeeding to a crowd is one thing, but trying to focus on an exam and listening to the whirr of an expresser is another...
How women are treated at the workplace whether it's the inequalities that we experience against men or how we are treated as a result of being pregnant or being a mum need to improve greatly, but I think cases like this undermine the objectives. You never stop being a mum but unless you have a kid that's asking for "Bitty" when he's in his twenties, you do stop breastfeeding and you do reduce your amount of feeds with the introduction of solids ....
I love your response... it's measured, speaks of experience and points out that while we're busy complaining about things like this, we're missing the big picture. Thanks!
Hmm, I have to disagree with you. Yes, I think women face more severe and extreme forms of discrimination in the professional work environment, but not providing time/space to breastfeed is important. What I read on the case was that it was not simply an issue of 45 minutes being enough, but that it was not enough to pump AND have a break for eating, going to the bathroom, stretching your legs - all the stuff that the other students would be doing.
Alex - We really do have much bigger fish to fry!
Carter-Ann - I do totally take your point but there are much bigger issues and I do think that lawsuits like this belittle the 'big picture'. We are right to expect to be accommodated by our employers, but does that stretch to the exam board? It's a difficult issue and more power to her if she gets her way, but with the use of the 'constitutional right' argument, it'd be interesting to see what other students will come up with if she wins her appeal.
I agree with all that I've read here. There are much better pumps available and had she had a lactation consultant, which can be provided at the hospital, they might have made some suggestions to her. For those who are facing similar issues, you might want to look at the IBCLC website.
On the work front, I think there should have been some leniency here. Without mothers, there would be no society. The more things change, the more the stay the same. I wish this young lady much success and hope that someday when she is in a management role she remembers this experience.
Unfortunately, I have witnessed having dealt with HR issues and law, that sometimes we, as females, once we've had our kids and/or are older, that we are sometimes harder on other working women than we have need to be.
Hm. Given that she's had mastitis already, I'd say that she would need to be quite thorough about expressing.
I typically needed about 30 minutes to pump, but that was in a calm 30 minutes - stress can delay let-down, and I suspect an exam with a major career opportunity riding on it would mean a certain level of tension.
I don't like Currier's claim to be standing up for all womankind, especially since her need is specific to her situation (prone to mastitis, very young baby - thus needing to really pump every 2-3 hours). However, the board has a bad history of not accomodating nursing mums (they're not legally disabled, so why bother?), which I find really irritating.
I wish her luck, but I'm dubious as to the outcome. Breastfeeding is so badly understood by so many people that her chance of finding a judge who really understands the issues is, well, about as good as a local IBCLC finding herself sitting on the bench that day, robes and all.
I think she should have been able to have extra time. Perhaps they could have given her a time limit in the beginning such as instead of the 45 min break, we're allowing you to have 1 hour. It took me at least 15 min to pump and sometimes it would take longer. Women who choose to breatfeed thier children are often treated like it's an un-natural thing to do and some people don't accept the idea. I don't understand why giving your child good pure nutrition the way God had intended is such a debatable topic. It shouldn't be. In my opinion, society should be much more considerate of these women and accomodate them accordingly.
What does this woman expect to do when she is a doctor? If she becomes a surgeon, will she expect to have a break in the middle of surgery because she has to pump? I don't mean to be unsympathetic to nursing/pumping moms (I pumped for 8 months after the birth of my first child this year) but I am tired of hearing all the complaining from other women. I think it's a good thing that there seems to be more accommodation of women in the workplace, but they also have to realize that there are going to be limits to what can be accommodated. Be a little flexible and stop being cry-baby drama queens.
I agree with Eileen. She is going to be a doctor. Is she going to stop in the middle of a procedure on a patient to pump? Put off getting tests and test results on patients in a timely fashion because she has to pump?
The way I see it, during the exam there is a break. What she chooses to do on that break is her business. Some people will eat, some will exercise, some will meditate, some will be too nervous to do anything but sit and wait for the exam to resume. Everybody gets their choice.
It is one exam, not an everyday event. Get through it and get over it.
I am a mother of two, breast feeding and pumping are just a part of life with a baby, but most of corporate America isn't going to bend over backwards for an employee who chooses to work when she has a little one at home. In most workplaces what an employee does on their break is their business, but otherwise they expect everyone to show up to business meetings, business lunches, appointments, etc and to maintain their expected level of work product regardless of personal business that needs to be attended to by the employee.
I'm a mother of a 21 year old child. I wanted to nurse him when he was born; however, due to circumstances beyond my control, i was unable to do so. I believe this woman should have thought more about the profession she was going into before having children knowing that taking the board tests had stringent time limits. Breastfeeding DOES NOT qualify as a disability under the ADA; therefore, there should be no concessions made in the break time limits. If she had been a thinking person, she would have either had her children earlier or else she would have delayed childbearing until she had passed the boards. I'm not trying to say women should not have the opportunity to nurse; however, they should not ask for special conditions that others are not equally given. I agree with the one poster - if say she decides to be a surgeon, will she be asking for a break to pump during the middle of a surgical procedure? I think anyone would say should should not as it would jeopardize the patient's health and well being and doctors are there for the patients not themselves.
OK, I wouldn't have had the chutzpah to ask for the same special dispensations as Ms. Currier, but I say more power to her for ASKING and GETTING. Maybe if more of us tried to change the system rather than just quietly accepting the old school template of doing things, our lives would have a better quality and we wouldn't feel so hemmed in. Boo to those who have said, "Well, what is she going to do, interrupt surgery to pump breastmilk?" This may be news to y'all, but nursing a baby is not a PERMANENT condition. I would think that by the time she performed surgery, if that is her path, she'd no longer be nursing.
If the opportunists and system-milkers don't jostle for change, are the rest of us really going to do it?