Pumping at work question

michelerenee78

I just started back to work this week and while I was out on leave, our office moved into a different suite and everyone is in a cube.  The cubes arent bad considering the walls are almost ceiling height and there is a door.  Its just that we are all on top of each other.

I felt weird pumping yesterday because I know everyone could hear the machine. There is no other place in our suite for me to pump and I dont like the idea of pumping in the bathroom. Any suggestions for how to muffle the sound?

TIA

amahrey

maybe you could get a little white noise machine to use at the same time as the pump... i wouldn't worry about it personally- and i definitely wouldn't pump in a bathroom.  i'm sure even if people could hear it they didn't assume it was a breastpump- most people have never been around one. 

oh_maria

I pump at work and because we are a staff of 2 + intern, I literally have to pump at my desk. I keep music playing while I do it and as a courtesy to my secretary and intern, when I came back from ML, I let them know that yes, I would be pumping, and to let me know if it would make them uncomfortable. They have had no complaints or issues about it. My pump is pretty noisy (Freestyle), and I am considering bringing my Symphony instead, however, the size of it isn't really appealing. 

My train of thought is that in state statute and federal law, this is my right to do this for my child. I will be considerate of others being uncomfortable, but being able to pump for my child comes first by a long, long shot.  

Temp170555000002207

It's federal law that your employer give you a private place to pump that is not a bathroom:

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.htm

I would talk to your HR person about finding a spot.