Priming the Pump: A Perspective on Breastfeeding While Working in a Busy Clinical Setting |Biomedgrid

Conservative estimates show that one year of breastfeeding equates to approximately 1800 hours of a mother's time. A full time job (40-hour work week) with vacation factored in equates to 1,960 hours. So, it is no surprise that 79% of women start breastfeeding but only 27% continue at 12 months. Keep in mind that there are various reasons why mothers may be unable to or choose not to breastfeed or pump and this does not make anyone less of a mother. This is not meant to stigmatize anyone who does not breastfeed. This article is merely meant to discuss how one can support breastfeeding and pumping in the workplace. This highlights one perspective of how this can be done in busy clinical environment such as the Emergency Department.