But my point, which you ignore, is that there have always been women in the workforce who have chosen to express milk for their children (breast pumps happen to pre-date your law, and manual expressing of milk greatly pre-dates the breast pump), and just how do you think they accomplished this Herculean feat without a special room?

The point being, what you fought for was not the health and well-being of infants, but rather the convenience of the mothers, because no infants were ever suffering in the first place.

You over-generalize when you say “most women” did XYZ, because you have conjecture, but no supporting facts for that assertion.

So answer the question…how did moms do natural breast milk feeding and go to work before this law was passed?

My wife expressed milk at night and early in the morning and we had this thing called a refrigerator at home. That worked well for us, and I suspect (though I have no studies on the matter), for a great many others as well. I suspect as much because sales of breast pumps did not decline even as, as you say, the number of women entering the workforce increased even in a time when there was no law mandating “lactation rooms”. But people differ and there is no one size fits all solution…even reserved rooms will not fit all.

I think you greatly underestimate the amount of human history that women have worked outside of the home…try ALL OF IT!!

Women have been manually expressing breast milk from the beginning of human history.
Fact is, most women could not afford to hire a wet-nurse while they were doing the work of survival.
Try setting your horizons a whole lot farther back than you currently have them set…both culturally and chronologically.

I have no problem with your stupid little law, but make no mistake about it…IT’S A STUPID LITTLE LAW, NOT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW AGE OF HUMANKIND!!
Want proof how small it is? You can’t get the ERA passed even today…that would mean something substantial to all women. Instead, you take this pebble they tossed you and make a Rock of Gibraltar out of it.

Passing a law against child homelessness or childhood hunger would go a long way though. Any Feminist energies working really hard on that front?
No, because it’s not about the children…it’s about what makes mommy happy.

Women went looking for longer maternity leave and came away with lactation rooms.
What you “won” is the equivalent of asking for an across the board $5/hr raise and settling for a shiny, new employee suggestion box in the lunch room.
Congratulations. Pats on the back all ’round.

Over time, the scientific revolution occurred, and somehow the word was communicated to mothers that “scientifically designed” formula was better for their children than breastmilk, and oh yeah, nursing was a rather primitive and barbaric activity anyway. And so “modern” women in the western culture did what their doctors told them to do, and used formula because they wanted what was best for their babies. Expressing breast milk was not needed because only third world savages were feeding their kids breast-milk anymore.

Then, the evil feminists fought hard so that women would have more opportunities than just staying at home and rearing children. Expressing breast milk was still not needed because only third world savages were feeding their kids breast-milk anymore; working moms were able to delegate the task of holding the bottle of formula to a different caregiver, that’s all.

It has only been in relatively recent times that scientists have discovered that formula isn’t all that is was cracked up to be. It turns out that mother nature created breastmilk is nutritionally superior to man-made formula. And as a bonus, breastmilk also contains antibodies that keep the baby protected from illnesses in a way that formulas simply cannot match. The folks who manufacture formula have tried of course, but they have failed. Breastmilk is best. Google it.

Of course, these discoveries have occurred after woman have transitioned in large numbers into the workforce. So the problem of conscientious mothers who go to work and want to express breast milk for the well-being of their infant is a relatively new one.

No, they did not express milk in seedy alleys. Most mothers in my mother’s generation gave their babies formula, because that is what their doctors told them to do.

And to answer your question – this issue found the light of day because many people believe that the health and well-being of infants is an important topic, and a topic worth fighting for.

If those two puns were intentional…BRAVO!!

If not, Double BRAVO!!

And I’m only assuming “mothers” = “moms” on this one!

Did they express milk in seedy alleys alongside needle-wielding heroin junkies or something?

Of all of the things in our society crying out for legislated corrective action, one wonders how this issue ever found the light of day.

There’s my opinion, no joke.

You may not be using a company phone to do it, but you’re taking time you’ve effectively sold to them for your own use.

You could almost call that theft by deception, since they think they’re paying you for something you are not delivering to them, i.e. your time.

Interesting take on the matter, huh?

Not everyone deals with that problem, you know. My sister had low supply and pumped for her baby at work (don’t recall there being any issues like this) and she never leaked. She even gave me the ONE box of breast pads she received as a gift, tearfully, because they were never necessary.

Life lesson:

The whole world is not like you. You need breast pads, another woman needs three minutes. Get it through your head: Don’t judge because you really have no effing idea.

Good advice. Here I was, sadly concluding that a bunch of ignorant 20 somethings were looking down their noses at “guilt tripping” moms who are having problems with squatters interfering with the use of the 4×7 closets we rely on to, say it with me now, *feed our babies*.

But the reality is that these guys have all just been pulling my leg, and I just didn’t get it? Cool! And what a huge relief.

Thanks, CB. That’s very good news indeed.