Rachel Rose Hartman, White House Correspondent for Yahoo News, describes the hurdles of attempting to breastfeed at the White House. While The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates that all businesses with more than 50 employees provide dedicated lactation rooms, this poses a conundrum when employees are stationed at non-company-owned facilities.
I tried to resist the bathroom-as-lactation-room as long as I could that first day. But when I couldn’t stand it anymore (read: pain from engorgement, leaking and discomfort) I gave in.
I checked out my options. Neither of the two single-stall restrooms had a chair or a place to sit other than a lid-less toilet seat, which was the first disappointment. There was no countertop where I could set up my equipment. I had no idea how I would make this work.
But I gave it a shot.
Do you ever think of this as a frivolous problem? Read Hartman’s article.