Pumping up breastfeeding

If you breastfeed and work, do you know about the PUMP Act?

The PUMP Act gives those who breastfeed and who work outside the home a major boost! IBCLC lactation consultant, Noreen Carver, shared the following information:

“In December 2022, President Biden signed into law The Pump Act (The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act). The PUMP Act expands your legal right to have pump breaks and private space to pump at work and it expanded protections for hourly workers, making it easier for those workers to be able to pump and provide breast milk for their children.”

What does the PUMP Act require?

Employers are required to provide a reasonable amount of time for lactating people to express milk for up to one year after birth. The law defines reasonable break time as “each time such an employee has need to express the milk”.

Employers must provide a clean, private space (not a bathroom) to express milk or to pump milk. The location provided must be functional for expressing milk.

If the space is not a dedicated space for this purpose, it must be available when needed by the employee to satisfy the statutory requirement.

The new law also enhances protection for an employee who files a complaint if retaliated against by their employer.

Being prepared and making a plan with your employer can help create a positive breastfeeding experience. Check out these tips on our “Setting the Stage for Breastfeeding” post