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.

northerngirl have you read the thread?

This is not new policy, it has been in place for 18 years.

The fact that there are no jobs at the moment is everything to do with the banks, global capitalism etc and nothing to do with a tiny number of women taking short breaks at work to express milk.

TSC has anyone actually rpoposed any of that?

DS4 doesn;t 'suffer' formula, he doesn;t tpouch it becuase he won;t accept it. Actually he's abit old now but had I gone back at 9 weeks with him as I did the older two we'd have been fucked, he wouldn;t have a bottle in his mouth- never did, progressed straight to cup at 6 months alongside BM.

Options are good, it give people- options. how many people actually take this up I don;t know but I do know when I ahd ds1 I was quite aware of it but chose not to take that route. If it helps some women into work then good. Because it might just. Formula BTW is great, I truly think that, if you can use it. Doubt anyone would argue that the soy crap we had to use is any comparison though and well, life is made up of all sorts.

There is a massive difference between your employer providing for you because they have to, and them being happy about doing so.

My very short experience of expressing at work was nothing short of miserable, coupled with the fact that I was barely squeezing out 1-2oz of milk per day even with an electric pump. I just remember it being very very stressful. DD ended up being mix-fed at 9mths, but despite this I am still feeding her at almost 3yrs, so going back to work needn't spell the end of Bf-ing.

While I was allowed to express, the bad feeling and resentment surrounding it (from colleagues and employer) made it a very negative experience, and no amount of legislation could change that.

No, it isn't checked that you are breast feeding. But you get the extra time in the middle of the day as it is assumed that you are, if you make the extra effort to go home, if you see what I mean.

thesecondcoming - last time I looked breastfeeding was about rather more than an individual's choice. I rather thought it was about securing the health of a baby that can't yet make its own choices and protecting the health of the next generation as a whole. If it's really necessary to descend to the level of a cost benefit analysis - which frankly is ridiculous when it is about natural versus artificial feeding of infants - everyone will benefit from more breastfeeding in the form of lower costs to the NHS.

The latest ABM mag has an interesting article comparing work/bf policy in different countries. Our country is pathetic in comparison with so many others.

In my view being an employer includes as an essential being sympathetic to the needs and circumstances of your staff. Employers in this country want nothing more than a team of automatons with no gender differences, no children, no lives outside work. They are shirking their responsibilities left, right and centre. I am sick and tired of hearing employers whinge about having to do anything to improve the miserable work lives of their employees.

Let's hope there are private bottle-feeding rooms too, for those who can't breastfeed or choose not to.

Clearly the point is that nobody else can produce breastmilk other than the mother. As if it even needs to be said.

Shoppingdays are you being deliberately obtuse? What does that comment contribute to the discussion?

Shoppingdays are you being deliberately obtuse? What does that comment contribute to the discussion?

I used to work for one of the Big 4 and there were expressing facilities there that were regularly used. This was a few yrs ago, so definitely not unheard of.

Was that a response to my comment, gaelicsheep? If so, I don't quite understand. If a mother wants to feed her baby at work then she shouldn't be discriminated against for the method she chooses.

I don;t think it is a natural extension TSC, no.

I am fairly sure ds4 woudln;t ahve taken a botle from anyone tbh, as it was I could not leave him for almost 2 years except with his dad who just dealt with the results as he would nto eat or stop screaming, and indeed his siblings have ASD or allied syndromes so it could well be he has aspects of that about him.

People generally don't take the piss tbh and very few women express after going back, I never could anyway and tbh I wouldn't have wanted to where I worked ( haulage firm).

No, I'm not being obtuse, are you?

The thread title is about private breastfeeding areas, not expressing areas. So if there are mothers breastfeeding at work, I think it would be great if bottle-feeding mothers could also be able to have this quiet time to feed their baby.

Shopping days I would agree if it were the case that formula could not be bought in the shops and given by any carer.

BM, afaik, is not available in Asda or even Waitrose. And given that science seems to indicate it has health benefits that save the NHS money then there is benefit to the country in promoting it.

OK, as long as the breaks are unpaid. THough why women who want to bf can't just take their maternity leave.

I have bf and also expressed in meetings. I didn't mean to, people just popped their heads around my office door and said breezily 'oh don't let us stop you' and proceeded to sit down and start gabbing away. It felt a bit odd but it was quite time efficient and I got a lot of bottle filled . I think the whole department has seen my baps by now. I hope I have done my bit for equality in the workplace.

On a more outspoken note, those morons who reel out the same old chestnuts about this being a special privilege yada yada are the same ones who whitter on in the next breath about why should they pay or healthcare and schools of others, why should they pay for defence, TV licences, etc etc. Conveniently forgetting that they as individuals have all benefited from these collective societal acts at these points. If they don't like living collectively, then they should buy themselves a fucking island and declare it an independent fucking republic. Otherwise shut the fuck up with the whining on about how fucking hard done by you are because some other people are trying to do their bit for the young.

Honestly. (You can probably tell I am getting annoyed by the lack of compassion of the whingers).

(My mum would be horrified at my language in that last post!)

Most/many might feel it right to continue feeding breastmilk (let's not start this argument again but it is still recognised as being best for the child) post the standard maternity leave? I'm not going back but I most certainly would...should we be discouraging something that is in the child's best interests for the sake of a measly hour here and there for a few months?!

"Shopping days I would agree if it were the case that formula could not be bought in the shops and given by any carer."

Do you not think that feeding is a time of bonding, even if it has to be with a bottle, due to the inability to breastfeed? It's not just the milk itself that is important. It's surely better for everyone if the parent feeds the child. Why should those who can't breastfeed have to let a carer feed their child at home?

amothersplace many people can;t afford to take all their maternity elave, or wish to BF longer, or know that taking it creates hardship for their employers (I did work in the charity sector, that's where that comes from). Tory policy to get parents to split maternity leave as well.

I do think there are simple options: lunchbreaks if you have them, offering flexi time for it, simple solutions that harm nobody. And if you don;t get a break during a day alsting 8 hours plus then frankly you need to look at why rather than wish others had the same shite dumped on them.

Dh used to leave work every night for an hour to go get the shift food from the shops, why shouldn;t a woman have somewhere to use that to BF instead? But you do need access to a fridge and somewhere that isn't a toilet. That is probably the more radical bit of this very old legislation tbh. I always could ahve amde time by either using my break or taking work home with me, but the reaction from putting it in the fridge- a different matter.

Either having chosen to ff or not having been able to bf should not prevent someone from supporting bf babies getting the milk they're used to when their mother returns to work. Let's not make this a classic ff v bf issue.
And thanks shoppingdays for your further posts as it answers my question - yes you are being obtuse

Either having chosen to ff or not having been able to bf should not prevent someone from supporting bf babies getting the milk they're used to when their mother returns to work. Let's not make this a classic ff v bf issue.
And thanks shoppingdays for your further posts as it answers my question - yes you are being obtuse