expressing milk whilst at work

[Miamla]

hi
sorry, i'm sure there have been other threads about this in the past but I've failed to find them! so can you either point me in the right direction or help please?

I'm going back to work part-time next week and I'm still bf my DS. I've emailed HR to ask them about where I can express but just wondered what would happen if they say there isn't anywhere or that I have to do it in the toilets (no way because DS will be having the milk the next day from a bottle). Do they have to find somewhere? I work in an open plan office and all the meeting rooms have glass walls so i'm really not sure how they're going to find somewhere for me that's reasonably discrete

thanks all

www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg373.pdf
The Health & Safety Executive guidance says, "On returning to work you should provide your employer with written notification that
you are breastfeeding and if possible ideally let your employer know before you
return. She or he must then conduct a specific risk assessment [...].
Your employer is required to provide somewhere for pregnant and breastfeeding
mothers to rest. HSE recommends to employers that it is good practice to provide
a private, healthy and safe environment for nursing mothers to express and store
milk (but this is not a legal requirement). It is not suitable to use toilets for this
purpose."

fantastic! thanks pasturesnew! Very interesting that they have to provide somewhere to rest, wish i'd known that a year ago!

Actually I went back to work 4 days a week when DS was 8 months old and although my employers were good about providing facilities, I couldn't be bothered to express whilst at work and found DS (8 months at that time) would have a bit less to drink at nursery and would catch up in the evening, and that my supply adapted to the point that I didn't even need to worry about wearing breast pads. This continued until he was 2, I'd had enough of bf by then.

hmm, breast pads! I'd better get some for next week! I"ll definitely need them for the first few days!

I think its amazing how quickly the supply adapts to what the baby's having. DS is recently night weaned and I only had a couple of mornings feeling really uncomfortable before it changed.

I'm only working 2 days a week so its great to hear you managed to keep bf yours until 2 whilst working 4 days

thanks again

Be prepared, the night weaning might suffer a bit I'm afraid - I don't think it's a feeding thing so much as a spending time with mummy thing. But hopefully at 2 days a week you should be OK.

Good luck, hope it all goes well.

oh no! what is it they say about there's never good news without bad! I appreciate the warning though!

I know the loos are out but I used to use the employee showers, which were quite nice - does your office have them?

hmm, MrsBadger, you may have had a very good idea there! They moved office 3 weeks before my mat leave started. I suspect there are showers somewhere but I haven't discovered them yet! Thanks for posting

My work offered the first aid room - lockable and not the loo (which is an utterly grim idea IMO). Might be an option?

I used the first aid room, and when that wasn't available, the ladies shower. My pump ran on mains or batteries which was useful

My employer's option is the first aid room. Not brilliant but it doesn't have glass walls! Had to do it when I had interviews before I went back to work p-t.

hmm, i don't know if there's a first aid room either but i'll add it to the list of suggestions! thanks girls!

i've just got a manual pump so fortunately no plugs/batteries required

Hi Miamla,

Since going back to work full-time 6 months ago I've expressed in a variety of weird and wonderful places, as my job means that I'm usually out at client sites...so does your office have any of these:

First Aid room
Empty office
Empty office with glass wals and lots of sheets of A3 paper stuck on the walls
Computer server room (v hot and uncomfortable)
Boardroom (v swish)
The 'chill out room' (v young company, had room full of beanbags, squishy cushions, TV, drinks machine)
My car (I don't recommend this option)
A store cupboard (bit cramped, full of boxes of stationery)
Meeting rooms with window in door - had to sit v carefully so no one looking in the window could see.

I'm sure they will be able to find somewhere, especially as you're giving them warning. Fairly often I turn up at a client and there's a bit of a scramble to find me somewhere, but they always do.

my personal favourite is the photographic darkroom - double locked airlock entrance, well-organised booking system and a big NO ENTRY light over the door

loving your suggestions alieght! i'm in the IT dept so no way i'm doing it in the server room. i'll get calls from my team going 'while you're there can you just see what's happening with the mail server'

we're a young company too so lots of chill out areas but only open plan!

i'm liking the idea of a dark room! was there a kettle in there too?

i'm sure they will find me somewhere but i suspect having a baggy tshirt with me for emergency cover up that i can pump under wouldn't go amiss!

sorry, forgot to thank you both!

no kettle but it was so soundproof I could have the radio on

but eventually I could double pump, read a novel and eat lunch at the same time...

sounds like bliss!