I wanted to ask if any nursing mothers RTO last week, if so could you speak on the conditions of the nursing room? I have seen several post around the lack of cleaning in various parts of the office and for sanitary reasons, I have grave concerns on returning especially with my infants only source of nutrients is breastmilk. Where did you store the pumped milk? Specifically, I do not have an assigned seat and I am located in one of the uptown Charlotte buildings. Dif you feel safe from not catching Covid while pumping?
15 replies (most recent on top)
Nursing mom in uptown charlotte here - the nursing room wasn’t dirty but also wasn’t exactly clean (just old and abandoned looking!) but there are cleaning materials provided so I clean the table/chair each time I go in and I know the cleaning staff is at least taking the trash out. I bring ice packs and keep the milk in a small cooler with the ice packs. I’m not worried about getting Covid while in the room, it has been empty each time I’ve needed it.
@ebu+1fTiMZ2s op here. This is my 2nd kid not my first. I pumped exclusively for my son for 13 months. Never gave my son formula, i pumped 80 ounces a day for 10 months and still managed to dice him bm until 18 months . I pumped every 4 hours, plus worked a full time job, managed a household and still never skipped a beat. What I didn’t have to worry about with my son vs my daughter was contaminating my milk with germs bc lack of cleaning and well a whole pandemic. I’m not sure which generation you are from but to say what you did pre pandemic and how you managed is a moot point bc life before Covid no longer exists. So I can very much be concerned about conditions, especially when others are pointing to unsanitary conditions. Do you realize what type of drama mothers with small children have been under during the pandemic, do you know what it’s like to lead a tech call with a screaming child in the background bc of daycare closure. Do you know what it’s like to pay more for daycare than your mortgage and it still be closed and you are still expected to work. You are delusional if you think your hardships and mine compare.
@ebu - Old mom going after a new mom - really?? You are the sc-m of this earth. I hope you rot.
Only locations that have at least 100 people will probably have a mother's room. In smaller locations, a vacant office or similar is available. And it's not the bathroom. Signs and window coverings are all that's required. Some locations may just be a closer too. You'll just need to bring the Madela cooler bag or store them in the breakroom
@ebu+1fTiMZ2s - I’m not the OP, but you can shove your post up your a$$. New moms have all kinds of things they are trying to figure out and adjust to, much less dirty office spaces during a pandemic.
Check yourself and if you’re not going to be helpful to a new mom FU-K THE HE-L OFF!!
I had my children before WFH was technically possible. I nursed both my children - br---t pumps exist and have for a very long time.
My husband and were able to feed our children via bottled pumped milk, get them to care, pick them up at reasonable times by coordinating our schedules, and meet the expectations required by our employers after driving to work.
Why is the current generation so incapable of simple tasks?
Is it you lack the ability critically think to a resolution?
Please grow up before you pro-create.
@vff+1fTiMZ2s, would you feed your kids in a restroom?
I had my kids pre-COVID, but the nursing rooms were fine. They provided disinfecting wipes in the room (hard core ones, not just Clorox) and I could wipe down anything I wanted. My pump parts were never out of my sight as I washed them myself in the sink in the room.
I had my own cubicle then, and I brought in a tiny fridge to store my milk in (totally against the rules, yes). I just plugged it in and kept it there all day.
If you don’t want to put your milk in the communal fridge, I’d suggest investing in a good cooler with ice packs. If you’re worried about the room being clean, bring your own wipes and wipe the surfaces that you set the pump on.
Good luck, I can’t imagine this is an easy time for you.
You should reach out to the admin for the floor and ask. There should be a nursing mothers room on the floor or at least in the building. Some rooms might have a fridge. I used to use rooms where you needed a key to get in. Check and see if that’s the case with your room.
If there is no fridge or you don’t want to use the fridge, what I used to do is 1) bring my own Medela cooler bag with two Medela ice packs (the plastic blue kind, the pump bottles fit nicely in between them) and store my milk that way and 2) use clean parts with each pump and store the used one in a large ziploc for home cleaning. Back then folks might reuse their pump items and just store them in the mini fridge, but now with COVID not sure if folks want to do that.
Also if the door doesn’t have a lock/key see if they can put one in. And have a sign put up that states it’s a room for nursing mothers so other folks don’t use it as a lounge (it’s happened before). As for cleaning you can always ask, but honestly it doesn’t even look like the workspaces are being cleaned so don’t think they are sanitizing additional spaces. You might need to make sure they have sanitizing wipes and go to town on your own.
Knowing this place, there are probably cameras in the nursing rooms.
@tnz+1fTiMZ2s My child is exclusively bottle fed, but I must still maintain a pump schedule so my supply maintains. It’s the Federal Law that any employer with more than 50 employees must provide accommodations to pump at work. I guess you assume every child with a bottle is using formula but that is not the case. OP here, this post was an understanding of conditions as those rooms have been unoccupied for 2 years and people have posted about rat droppings and dusty conditions in various post on this board. As my child is exclusively fed from breastmilk my concern is storage, as previously before Covid it was stored on floor refrigerators. Now with Covid, I am very hesitant in coming back and storing my child’s milk in a fridge with various people coming in and out of there. The thought is giving me the worst vibes ever. So I am
Asking if they have made additional accommodations considering it’s somewhat of a health risk.
@vff+1fTiMZ2s
Where do you work that a nursing room has a toilet in it? That’s the most unsanitary thing ever.
Good question OP.
As a guy I never really thought about this but it makes sense that nursing moms need a private place to pump and then a place to store. Your question was clear to me.
Now to the thoughtless people who already replied, nowhere does the OP even suggest her infant will be a work with her. SMH.
ffs, we don't need nursing rooms. Your little darling is no more special the rest of our little darlings. They will fine sucking your t-t milk from a bottle.
Where I used to work, men would casually go into those rooms with a newspaper to go #2 in private.
Also, I once observed a woman nursing her baby in a crowded waiting room.
Like it was nothing, she just reached in and dug out one of her impressive mammaries and let the baby have at it.
Pretty much every guy was doing the sideways eye thing where you try to see as much as you can without turning your head.
What do you expect though? It's a lizard brain thing.