Join Moms Rising On The Front Line Of Women's Issues - My Breastfeeding Work Problem

Maybe you have or maybe you haven't heard of a group called Moms Rising. I have been a member for quite sometime and I am always amazed with the situations concerning women Moms Rising Supports. They are on the front line of all issues concerning women.

Two that caught my heart and attention are the following:

• Breastfeeding Promotion Act
• The Marriott Hotel blaming a woman for being raped

The breastfeeding promotion act is near and dear to my heart because as a nursing mom, I was forced out of my job due to the fact that I was pumping two times a day and taking lunch. I gave 110% to my last job. Coming in early, working through lunch, no breaks, staying until the wee hours and never being compensated for it. When my boss came back after maternity leave she insisted that she was going to pump for her breastfeeding son and refused to stop this time (for the first she stopped due to work and always regretted it). I made it a point to be sure no one would bother her when she was pumping by rushing her out or into meetings. Eventually she started missing her pump time because she couldn't get away from a meeting or a phone call. She gave up after the third week but I insisted that she I would not be stopping.

My maternity leave was only 2 months after she came back to work. When as my leave was coming to an end, I called the office and made sure that they would be able to do as they promised which was give me a place to pump. They assured me that everything would be fine and that they were standing behind me 100%. I got back and everyone worked around my pump schedule the first two days without a problem. I would pump at 10:30 then go to lunch (to feed my son in daycare close to my job), then pump again at 3:30.

There was a conference room upstairs and I was told it was the "Lactation Room" and that I was to kick out anyone who was in there, meeting or not!. Sounded good to me because I was going to nurse my son! My manager called me in asking to see pictures, telling me how much they missed me and gave me my review which was stellar and so encouraging, along with a bonus check. Everything was amazing! I had my son, was working a job I loved and they appreciated me.

On the third day, they called me in the conference room asking me how long I was going to be. Ummm...as soon as I'm done I thought. But I closed up shop! Walked across the hall to clean my pump supplies in a public rest room which was disgusting!

A few times I couldn't get the conference room to leave which meant that eventually I had to pump in a public stall and rush through it. Not easy for a new mommy! The whole thing was humiliating and degrading. To stand there with my pump bag waiting for people to leave so I could pump was upsetting.

On the fourth day they came over to my desk with work at 4:48 that would have taken me an hour. When I told them that they knew I had to pick up "the baby" they gave me faces but moved out to the way when I left my cube.

This went on for 5 weeks. Them asking for work to be done just as I was leaving to pump, feed him or leave for the night to pick him up. I spent most of the time crying through my pumping and my ride to my son's preschool. As soon as I saw my baby boy and held him, I knew that it wasn't me that was the problem it was the job and I refused to let them get to me. Until the next day when it started again.

On my 2 month back to work I was given a written warning. The manager called me into her cube and handed me an envelope and said, "I guess you saw this coming?" Ummm...nope never saw it coming. I had just returned back to work and received a beautiful review on my work so this floored me. When I asked why she said, that I wasn't giving 100% to my position. I was shocked. I was coming in at 9:00, doing my job, taking two breaks to pump, taking lunch to feed my son and leaving at 5:00. I just started crying. What? She said, "Maria, I know if you want this to work you will make it work." I started telling her how shocked I was and that this was disgusting. I brought up the fact that this was because I was now working 9-5 instead of 8 until whenever, that I wasn't skipping my lunch and taking breaks which was what everyone else did. I told her that I was shocked that the smokers who go on breaks 5-8 times a day have more rights that I did. She told me that it was immature to bring up other people. I cried the whole meeting as I tried to explain that I wasn't asking for this forever, that I was asking for this while I was nursing my son! She again stated that if I wanted this to work, I would make it work!

I spent the rest of the day crying.

When I got home I explained to my husband what happened and he said, "you know what you have to do, you have to resign. They are expecting 110% and now that you are giving 100 that is not enough for them. You gave them too much for the past 5 years." I knew he was right and that Monday I quit!

I knew I had a discrimination case on my hands and there are still hard feelings on my side but if not for them I would have missed out on my son's early months of life.

There are many women in the same position and a rest room is not the proper place to pump for your baby.

Moms Rising has asked me to forward this to all my friends, which means you guys!