Workplaces going to be urged for private Breastfeeding areas

[HermyaAndThePomBears]

Here!

The government are going to give mothers the right to Brestfeed at work.

I don't know about anybody else, but I think this is great news.

[QueenGigantaurofMnet]

Will you be allowed to have your baby brought to you to formula feed too?

[BlueberryPancake]

It was an internal meeting,not with customers. And I did and still have a good, well paid job, and I don't feel that in any shape or form this has affected my career or how people saw me at work. I didn't have a problem with it, my colleagues didn't have a problem with it.

You clearly have a problem with it.

[Pootles2010]

The whole point of this, is to support the new legislation that says you can transfer some of mat leave to the father. So more women going back before 6 months, and the idea is the baby is at home with dad, who brings baby in to work to be fed. Obv so few women live close enough to work it won't really work like that, think will work more for expressing. Most women would practise expressing first, and if you express when you've not fed for a few hours its quite quick and easy.

I don't think women will need that much time off for it - if you did quick feed before you left in the morning, say at 8 am, then you could express one feed during work for use the next day, that could be done during lunch break, and you could express one feed in the evening to be used for the other daytime feed.

[GetOrfMoiLand]

Evidently I am coming at this as the mother of a teenager who has not breastfed for 15 years.

Breastfeeding is not the be all and end all, frankly. And when you go back to work I think other considerations are more paramount, frankly.

[Pootles2010]

What sort of thing you thinking of Get Orf? Not being critical, not gone back yet, may be being naive... almost certainly am...

[solo]

Good news, but as others have said; where do the babies go for the rest of the time?
Expressing is more likely and this all comes far too late. When I returned to work after Ds at 17 weeks, I was told to use the toilets to express...not in a nice, pleasant and comfy office block toilet, but in an old, cold and filthy Victorian prison. Oh yes. Lovely!

[BalloonSlayer]

Has Xenia been on yet?

I think she said once she'd get the nanny to bring her DCs into work so she could BF them.

So it could work for people who live near their workplace and have people looking after their DCs who are able/willing/paid to bring them in.

[Pootles2010]

Solo the idea is they're at home with their dads - this dovetails with idea for partners to take some of the maternity leave.

[KittyFoyle]

I wouldn't call expressing 'time off' - I hated it. Would much rather have been at my desk than pumping away in some antechamber. at least 'time off' in the pub is fun.

[daimbardiva]

I don't think this'll increase rates at all. If you are commited to bfing enough to be still doing so by the time you go back to work, you'll find a way anyway.

[Antidote]

OK seriously now, what jobs do people do where they are actually able to take a lunch hour where they can be unavailable to take phone calls / check things or even off site?

I am a bit about the comment above that these changes might be OK to implement in the public sector, but not private firms. I've been a public sector employee for 8 years, and I don't know a single person in my profession who could reasonably take the number / duration of breaks required to feed / bf in private or to go to the nursery (usually on site). Somehow bf on the wards / clinical areas seems a bit yuck too (like using the toilets).

[otchayaniye]

As I said before. I went back to part time work at 15 months and my child still fed on demand. Obviously that had to stop but I/we still wanted to breastfeed her once in the 8 hour shift I work.

He tended to go out for the day anyway so would arrange it to swing by my work so I could breastfeed and reconnect.

Breastfeeding isn't just about nutrition, it's about the maternal relationship. If I could have helped it I wouldn't have wanted to go 8 hours without seeing her. Now she's two we no longer do this. But did it between 15-19 months.

We are both entitled by our employers to have flexible working until our youngest child is six years old. It works out that I work three days and he works two nights.

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

Hammy - who was that aimed at? If you are talking to me can you articulate why they will not take me seriously now?

I can assure you they do take me seriously. Why wouldn't they? They are well educated, informed, open minded adults. Why would they have a problem? How is it affecting them exactly? I wouldn't do it with an older baby - but that is only because an older baby would be mobile, noisy etc. But a baby 4 months ish or less? Why not.

If it is not clear I work in academia. I happen to work in a midwifery and child related area so everyone around me is either a health professional or likes young children. Would be a bit odd if they have a problem. And as I said it is for such a relatively short period of time. This is one reason why breastfeeding rates are so low in our society as it is seen as something that should be hidden away. If more people (in my type of job where there is flexibility) brought their babies to work, the world would be a nicer place.

People bring their lunch to these meetings...

[GetOrfMoiLand]

Oh I don't know, just that when I went back when dd was 3 months i was knackered, stressed, looked like a train had hit me, NOT wanting anyone to think 'oh she has just had a baby...' to excuse any mistakes I may have made.

To be honest it was hard enough getting up and out the house without thinking of expressing milk at work as well, I think that would have finished me off.

Bearing in mind the fact though that I found expressing utterly impossible. If I had been able to express easily I would possibly have thought differently.

But - I BF for 3 months which I thought was great, and to be honest i wasn't gutted at putting dd on formula when i went back to work. Worse things happen at sea. But - that is said from a 15 year distance, can understand that Breasfeeding/formula feeding discussion is all consuming when you have a baby.

[Pootles2010]

Just depends on type of job I think Antidote - my job is pretty intense, but doesn't involve any work that needs doing that moment - so I could take an hour, it's just i'd end up staying later. As I would imagine most people would who take time out to express - your work load won't go down, you'll just have to work faster/longer, like when you get back from holiday!

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

Antidote - I tend to have a set amount of work to do. Not all of this needs to be done 9 - 5 so if I have a break for some reason I just work in the evenings.

[otchayaniye]

"OK seriously now, what jobs do people do where they are actually able to take a lunch hour where they can be unavailable to take phone calls / check things or even off site?"

I am a journalist and work a clearly defined shift (organisation is global and I am on duty before handing over to NY) on a team with others and we all without fail work 8 hours and take one hour for lunch and arrange it so colleagues cover one another.

I have a Blackberry so can take calls but rarely have to.

[solo]

I guess that might be Ok if you actually have someone to take paternity leave. I haven't had on either occasion.
It shouldn't be assumed that there ae two adults in the babies lives IMO.
My Dad cared for my Ds when I returned to work and I expressed like mad for him.

[Pootles2010]

No thats true solo, it shouldn't be assumed, but where there are two parents its good that they're making allowances for the fathers to spend as much time as the mothers, don't you think?

[StealthPolarBear]

Hammy, I have bfed in plenty of meetings and have had no problems being taken seriously after that, thank you. Why ever not?? What do they think motherhood entails?
(although my director did quit soon after - maybe he was of a nervous disposition and this tipped him over the edge :o)
Yes, this is linked to effectively shortening mat leave for women by 6 months.

[CMOTdibbler]

I expressed at work for a year, including travelling for work. I used the first aid room, which was also used by people that needed a bit of privacy for injections or whatever in addition to actual first aid. It didn't inconvenience anyone but me as I could take my laptop and double pump in 15 minutes while working. Never took a break otherwise

[otchayaniye]

I breastfed a baby while having a meeting/discussion with my future boss of my team.

Obviously didn't think I was that unprofessional.

[toomanychristmaslights]

Agree with otch

Went back to work when dd2 was 4 months. Fed her in meetings with my boss, my dh just brought dd to me. She refused to wean until she was 1. No problems, worked fine

Would have loved a place to express when I had ds, hated using toilet. That was 3 years earlier with different boss.

Both my bosses were women and worked in different areas of the same company

Just because not everyone understands

[solo]

See, now I'm not a selfish person, not in the slightest, but I do feel strongly that I should be the one at home caring for my babies, call me old fashioned (not that there's likely to be any more babies now ).