how to handle an expressing mother in class. WWYD?

[susanjones123]

NC because this will definitely out me to any colleagues or students.

One of my students (I'm an HE lecturer) had 6 months off recently to have a baby. She's now returned to study which is great and we are delighted to have her back. The department has been very accommodating for her and let her miss classes, leave early when necessary, bring her baby to meetings etc.

So far, so fine.

She's still BFing and using expressed milk when her DH does the feeding. She uses an electric pump. The problem is that she uses the pump in the classroom. I don't mean in the actual class, during the lectures but at the beginning when everyone is arriving and sometimes during group work activities. I, personally, find this very off-putting (not putting me off my teaching but just generally quite off-putting) and other students have commented quite negatively.

As the main academic she has contact with, I feel as though it falls to me to have a word about this but I'm really unsure how to handle it.

I bottle-fed both of mine from day 1 so I'd really appreciate the experiences of people who have BF on this, please.

yes, she says it's an electric pump in her OP.

Are you equating and bfing mother pumping to a child with significant SN needing breathing apparatus? I do hope not .

and = a

Totally different situations Officer.

Officer you really know how to win friends and influence people. This woman does not have the right to disrupt the rest of the class.

Officer from the opening post.

She's still BFing and using expressed milk when her DH does the feeding. She uses an electric pump

The situations you quoted are completely different. It is not necessary for this woman to disrupt the rest of the class.

What on earth is this thread? The land that common sense/manners left behind? Expressing breast milk in class? Ew. Ew. Ew. She sounds like a nutcase, but I guess your hands are tied with regards to the discrimination policies of the college. CRAZY.

I'm an extended BFer, and I hope I'm pretty reasonable, and I'm super-impressed with her confidence in using an electric pump out and about.

I think that if she's doing it while everyone's mucking about getting sat down etc. then OK (I wouldn't do it, but if she can, then good on her) - as long as she's not holding up the class with it.

Doing it during group exercises I think is not on - I can't see how you can properly participate if you're hitched up to one of those things.

Oh and officer your colostomy bag analogy is farcical. The person concerned wasn't changing it in public or in the middle of classes.

Surely these Uni students get regular breaks, when they can go to the canteen, bathroom etc.
Why doesn't the breast pumping student do it on one of the breaks- go sit in the canteen and have a cup of coffee at the same time?
Why the need to disrupt a lesson?

I think OP needs to ask if the expresser would prefer a room or is she happy to continue as she is. Her right to express is above the other students right to be irritated by a little milk/boobs/humming background noise. I think the other students need to show some support/empathy as its quite a big thing juggling breast feeding/studying.

OfficerVanHalen there's a difference between talking about your colostomy bag (my foster-sister had one, and the rest of us kids thought it the COOLEST THING EVAH) and changing the colostomy bag mid-lecture. One is perfectly appropriate, one is not.

It's not like the woman's running around naked hoovering, she sat expressing and there's a low level hum

I'm sorry, I've skimmed, but I think YABU and your other students are being very unreasonable.

They are adults. They should get over themselves, frankly. There are lots of accommodations that are mildly disturbing to some students (eg., having a sign language interpreter in the lecture, having someone typing instead of writing, whatever). They need to learn to cope. If there is someone with a genuine difficulty (eg., hearing loss and the pump is very noisy), there's a problem and ideally one of them would move classes. Other than that, they're just being very childish.

I've taught students who have back-to-back two hour lessons, and some more than that. They may really struggle for time. I think HE ought to be much more accommodating.

And honestly ... I find this distracting. I teach HE. I think it's my job to cope with distractions when they're helpful for accommodating a student who may otherwise drop out!

only on MN

next time people say "what phrases do you only see on MN" this thread will remind me

How the jeffing jeff in jeffland is it OK for a collegue lecturuer to be pumping her breasts during a class

i have heard it all now

The students don't have to look if it bothers them so much

From Paris - it's a student, not a lecturer expressing

• I would find this distracting, even. I've not had the experience.

I would be stunned to find there's two breastfeeding students bringing pumps into class across UK HE.

Which is pretty sad, really.

Sometimes I really hate mums net. Addicted to it but hate it . Why would anyone think this is ok?

The mother diesnt have to do it in a classroom why is her feelings more important than the rest of the class why is she so important

Why wouldn't anyone think this isn't ok, kerry? That's what I don't get.

Honestly, you would think the OP is talking about a class of nine year olds.

Adults need to learn to get along with each other. Part of that is making allowances for people who need them. If they can't do that for a nursing mother, what are they like when there's someone signing in the room? Or someone typing loudly?

They're not children. They shouldn't be allowed to behave like children.

mrsjay - we don't know she doesn't have to do it in the classroom, do we? So far as I can see.

And her feelings are more important because she has a requirement and the other students are just being intolerant. Intolerant people don't get more rights just because they dislike something.