Sorry, you're an idiot and you've no idea what you are talking about. The "no class" society you talk about is reflected in the mocking Target employees and the employers that don't accomodate the needs of employees that are trying to do something good for their kids. What would be your brilliant alternative? Fire them all? Force everyone to bottle feed that Chinese-made crap? Maybe that explains your reduced cranial development and inability to empathize with the humans.....please do us all a favour and stick your head back in the sand.

What on Earth do we think breasts are for??

This issue should not require law. Breast feeding is necessary but there is also a need for "common sense" in this matter. When feeding the child using a little "blankie" over the event would communicate modesty, couteousy, and "privacy" which is the antithesis of the aggressive attitude of "in your face." AND, the "observer" should be averting their gaze to communicate some respect.

Expirating breast milk prior would help, but, a baby needs what a baby needs, folks!

You seriously need to go educate yourself, wasn't. Nice name you chose.

redplanet-2690269

I'm with you Wasn't Me!.

I'm about to p some people off and I R-E-A-L-L-Y do NOT give a sht 'cause it's the truth it doesn't matter whether they agree or not it's STILL the TRUTH period.

When they stop work to go feed their little brat offspring

Stopped reading there. You must not have kids. The gene pool thanks you. We wont have another ill informed dolt running around.

Wow - I'd love for you to show your mother that response. Or your wife or daughter. You won't be happy the other way either if women quit their jobs to stay home and then require extra help from the state to support the lost income. I'm sorry to tell you the "good old days" have long passed you by grandpa. I feel sorry for your family if you are that ugly to them. Your poor grandchildren.

So what would you rather mothers do - provide their children free milk from their bodies or apply for government aid to help pay the ridiculous cost of formula. It doesn't take that much time (pumping goes quicker than breastfeeding), if you are breastfeeding you physically HAVE to pump every so often, you just need a small, private, clean place. My workplace allows it no question and there has never been a problem or misuse. This isn't special treatment, it is a necessity for a working mother and in this economic environment, most mothers need to work.

For years I've watched smokers take numerous on-the-clock breaks to go outside and have a cigarette, and yet a mom wanting to feed her baby the way nature intended is a big deal? While I'm not so sure the law needs to cover actually having a baby come in to be breastfed, I am in favor of laws that require breaks and a decent environment for pumping. I've had to pump in communal bathrooms, workout rooms, even the telephone patch panel closet in order to get privacy! I always made up the time I took to pump - it cost my employer nothing. But I sure would have liked less hassle and a decent sanitary place in which to pump!

Was'nt Me!...redplanet= Idiots who don't have children!

How about keep your eyes off my boobs.

I not only have kids that were honor roll but grandkids that are honor roll as was I.

ADS8o If you don't want anybody to see your boobs than don't expose them!!!

Or do you not have the brains to figure that out?

1--You are right, they are not entitled to an more break time than other employees. If they can not do their work, then they need to stay home and raise the baby. She had it, others did not, and we should not have to pay for it. No special treatment, and the mothers that breast feed, should not ask for special treatment. We have one here, that will stop 4 times per day for her mother to bring the baby out, and she goes back through the security gates, to her mother's car, feeds the baby, then comes back in. Each trip takes over an hour. So she is getting paid 8 hours per day and maybe works two. We have to pick up her end. Now, the other 6 women that are pregnant, have stated they will do the same. Can not bring the baby in, as this is a security risk area.

2--If she wants to feed the baby in public, then let her. This country has got to get over its obscene thoughts about a breast. If you do not want to see it, look the other way. And as far as kids, which is more obscene a breast that feeds a child, or a plumber's ( not that all of them show it ) butt.

she is right .you are doing there work.its like a smoker .would you want to cover for them you can't work an breastfeed .an if they choose to do this ,then they should have to deal with it . the best thing for a child is to have a parent there when they are smaller at least .lastly there is no reasn to breast feed in a target .go home

I have no issue with a woman being allowed to breast feed at work. In fact I feel every business should be required to have facilities in place for breast feeding customers also. If it's absolutely necessary to do it in public - be modest. Sure, it's a natural function but then so it urinating, defecating, farting, burping, and sex. Yet society expect a measure of modesty to be exercised with those activities, the same is true for breast feeding. No, I don't cover up when I eat - but I also don't like people to watch me eat and I don't walk around public places doing it. I sit down somewhere. Generally my home or a restaurant, which is designated for eating.

If they show us their Boobs then we oughta get a lap dance.

Or at least share some milk with us I'll bring a bowl of Apple Jacks or Cap'n Crunch.

Wow "Wasn't Me". I'm thinking the corporate world is grateful you're not in it either. It amazes me that something so natural is of such disgust to you. All these women want, the same women who are back to work a mere SIX WEEKS after giving birth I might add, is a place to pump their milk.

Are you that socially backwards that you cannot understand such a basic concept?

I think those of you, talking to you 'tiredofbothsides', who are unable to disagree with someone without name calling are showing your lack of education. Calling someone an idiot because their opinion differs from yours seems rather harsh. Instead, why not develop a real opinion based on some real facts, to fight back with those whose opinions don't mesh with yours.

there's this cool new feature called the bathroom (actually it's been around since almost the beginning of the community)... if i have to poop, i go into it. if i have to puke, i go into it. if i have to do anything else that needs to be, let's just say private, i go into it... there should be no problem reaching it in public when you need to breastfeed as well, or are all the women that do this that stuck up with no sense of just doing what is expected of them? hahaha stop thinking you can do anything you want in life and just do what is morally right for once!

There are some businesses where breast feeding would not be appropriate. Who is going to bring the child in (repeatedly) and wait for the Mother to take a break? (Some places have security and rules against non-employees being on premises.) Let alone the business (factory, construction) environment would not be a good place to bring a baby. I have nothing against pumping milk at work, but breast feeding would not be universally feasible. And no, others should not be making up for time lost by the Mother to do this. We need some common sense here, and as per usual, Obamacare yet shows even MORE lack of common sense with this.

Having children is a personal choice and decision. Companies and co-workers should not have to be imposed on in time and/or money to cover for a woman's personal choice and decision. Any time it takes a woman to breast feed or pump should be off the clock. As far as facilities, stick a chair in the women's bathroom and you have a facility.

And women wonder why, still to this day, they don't get ahead like men. Frankly, they are generally a pain in the as*!

I'm a woman, have worked with primarily men during my career years. Men are a breeze compared to catty, whining and complaining women. And with men, you don't have to listen to the women who act as though they are the first woman on earth to give birth. Geez, women act as though everyone should be so enamored with the fact that they are pregnant or have a baby. Big deal! It's been done billions of times before you - get over yourself! And take the responsibility for your personal decisions.

And while we are discussing the sense of entitlement a lot of women feel when they are pregnant or have a baby - stop using work e-mail to send pictures of your baby to everyone. A lot of us neither care or are interested.

The family leave act gives women 12 weeks. This should provide women the time needed to provide immune boosting benefits that breastfeeding supposedly provides,and I say supposedly because I did not breastfeed my first child because he was lactose intolerant and they were never sick eating soy milk, my second child I breast fed for 6 weeks and I never did it in public, go to the restroom if you are in public the only time you may whip them out is mardi gras and you won't find me there either.

So, pandas... you're good with eating a sandwich that was prepared in the same bathroom where you've been puking and pooping?

@ pandas are awesome - Great, you use the bathroom to poop, pee and puke. Knowing that, do you want to have your meals prepared there? Because that's what you're asking mothers to do for their children, which is absurd.

In most states, EVERYONE gets a lunch break and two fifteen minute breaks. Mothers should use these to express breast milk for their children. If they go over the allotted time, they should be required to make up the time. No one is "earning" their money for them anymore than someone else is "earning" your money because you went to lunch! Most women just want a clean place where they have some sense of privacy and can be a tad relaxed (which helps speed up pumping and effectiveness FYI)

Regarding breastfeeding in public, if you have a child with you, sometimes you HAVE to feed them there. At Target, what are you supposed to do? Leave your cart, pack the kid up, drive home and feed them to ensure 100% privacy? No, THAT'S absurd! However, there's really no need to see the breast when feeding in public, there are plenty of blankets and covers made especially for it. I don't understand the sheer anger coming from those who are opposed to breastfeeding or making even slight accommodations for it. You can't exclude an entire group of people from the workforce, though silly people have tried, hence the need for this law and ADA, EEOC, etc. Use some frickin' common sense.

Lemonverbeena said:

All these women want, the same women who are back to work a mere SIX WEEKS after giving birth I might add, is a place to pump their milk.

A "mere" SIX WEEKS after giving birth? Oh, the poor women. As if going back to work is a hardship. If it is, maybe women should have thought twice about having a kid if she can't spend the proper time with her baby. And depending on the size of where you are employed, federal law allows for 12 weeks leave. And if your response is that they can't afford to go 12 weeks without pay, well again, maybe they should have rethought having a baby.

post #1.24 and #1.25... i've eaten a sandwich in the bathroom before, it's no big deal. the woman isn't rubbing her tit on the toilet before giving it to her kid, so there wouldn't be any extra germs on it. target has changing rooms as well, for the women "occupying" target right now that don't want to go into the bathroom. if you are making the choice of having a baby, then make the choice to purchase a bottle to store the milk in for use in public if you have to and can't stand the evil bathroom. you don't "deserve" to have a dedicated place for this stuff just because you made a life choice. if you need to get anything done, these days you can find a place to do it in private... life sucks, grow up and start dealing with it people... this is 2012, and just now we are starting to complain about stuff like this? i wonder how you people would have survived 100 years ago hahaha

MsWheezer:

Give us a break! A baby sucking on a boob is in no way the same as preparing and eating a sandwich in a bathroom. If women think they should be able to breast feed anywhere in public, then doing so in a bathroom is no different. If mommies want a spa-like atmosphere to breast feed, then stay home!

Hopeful - We're talking about a place to express milk during the work day. You are asking me to do the EXACT SAME THING as prepare that sandwich in the bathroom by insisting I go there to pump.

Maureen-2162031I think those of you, talking to you 'tiredofbothsides', who are unable to disagree with someone without name calling are showing your lack of education. Calling someone an idiot because their opinion differs from yours seems rather harsh.

I dont call people names who disagree with me. I call people names who are stupid.

jjsmom1The family leave act gives women 12 weeks. This should provide women the time needed to provide immune boosting benefits that breastfeeding supposedly provides,

Supposedly? Its scientific fact that the milk provides immune system support to babies for 6 months after birth. It helps you not look like a fool if you do a little research.

Sorry, NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE SAME THING! Again, if a woman can whip her boob out in the mall, with hundreds of people around her to breast feed, she can certainly do it in a bathroom. And a pump fits right on the boob, it does not come into contact with any bathroom fixture.

redplanet-2690269

I not only have kids that were honor roll but grandkids that are honor roll as was I.

I am going to go ahead and declare BS on that one. Although I suppose you dont have to have a brain in order to procreate. Stupid is as stupid does.

The law states that the lactation facility cannot be a restroom.

Not only do I have to pay for your child to go to school with my taxes, I have to work more so you can take more breaks. You chose to have kids, so take care of them yourself. Sounds like welfare to me.

I really can see both sides of this issue but I have to ask, what next? First off, a woman's restroom is generally nicer than a man's. Generally speaking they are larger and sometimes have places to sit that aren't related to relieving one's self. Seems like a fine place to express milk especially since our bodies are actually really good at killing germs that get past the 1st line of defence...the skin.

As for taking long breaks to feed a baby, if the time isn't made up and mom gets paid for it anyway, then I would be mad as hell. We're already giving parents tax breaks. Do I have to pay for their long work breaks too? No way. And I feel the same about smokers too.

As a prior smoker who kicked the habit many years ago, if you can't get your smoking done during lunch and your two 15 minute breaks then you need to re-evaluate your addiction because you are a non-functioning addict and I don't want to pay for your lost time. I rarely ever took smoke breaks at work when I did smoke because I had too much to do.

And, as for public nursing and "people shouldn't watch", get over it. You're asking for an awful lot. Now you're making demands that the public give you (paid?) feeding breaks, build you a separate, extra-sanitary environment for feeding and also not look at you when feeding in public? Puh-leez....

Since when, in the last couple hundred thousand years, has taking care of a baby demanded so much or even needed it for the absolutely successful (some would say too successful) continuation of the species??

Bottom line, don't force the public to cater to your needs as a mother. Abortion is a woman's choice. That's fine...so is having the baby but don't ask me to foot your bills because you think your motherhood makes you deserving of special rights and privileges.

It will always be a source of irony that in America, a substantial number admantly want the legalization of all pornography; yet the sight of a woman breast-feeding is shock.

Not for or against this..but it will be another reason why employers will not hire females too much.

redplanet-2690269 Quote.....My mom didn't think or act that way and she raised four boys.....Endquote

Correction: You mom (possibly) raised three men. The fourth (boy) clearly could not be "raised".

Pandas_are_awesome states: "... i've eaten a sandwich in the bathroom before, it's no big deal."

Good for you panda, and there's no tangible harm in it, in a modern facility (indoor plumbing, running water), and I'd even hazard a guess that you are less likely to contract salmonella food poisoning in a restroom than in a kitchen. Still it's a cultural anathema to just about everyone (except for you), and in fact it violates religious law found in the first five books of the Old Testament (as if you care). As for myself, this is so ingrained in me from my upbringing that I could never bring myself to make coffee at my last place of employment because one had to duck into the restroom to fill the pot from the sink, and I just could not/would not bring myself to do that. So I certainly understand, and fully support, legislation which respects our predominant cultural values, stating that a facility to accommodate lactation must be provided other than a restroom.

Women have breasts for the primary purpose of feeding their infant offspring. They are not just decorations or "nasties".

the unit toad, post #1.40... perhaps you should skim over everything else I said, not just the first sentence. there are other facilities that you can reach in public and there are bottles that can be filled before going out into public. and also, if you haven't heard of separation of church and state then you should perhaps read over it. i wouldn't quote the bible or any other religious document in the future, because it might say one thing that may prove a point, but no one can follow those books word for word.

I don't think this law means that people will be whipping them out in public. As it states, for those who are reading comprehension challenged such as yourself it would seem.....employers to provide a place to feed or pump. Does that mean folks would be feeding in the aisles at Publix or Target or Walmart? Umm, no. My wife uses her office, with the door closed, during her prep-time between classes. I swear, the people posting out here are mostly dopes, not sure it's worth my time even responding to these morons.

Well, tired, you said it well. Many post with no information, education on a subject, or thought for what they are typing.

They are talking about having the right to pump breastmilk in PRIVATE, away from other employees who will never even know what is going on you idiot. My god no wonder other countries are mocking us - the education level in this country is pathetic. Did you even go to college? Obviously you couldn't even be bothered to read what the law allows.

I breastfed both my children until they were a year old. When I was in public and the baby was hungry, I always had a blanket to cover myself and I went to as private a place as I could because anything else seemed unclean to me. Now, have I seen women just lift their shirt? Yes. Would I do it? Not personally, but that just me, but it certainly doesn't make me go on a maniacal rant like RED PLANET chose to, not once, but several times. Calling women who want to breastfeed spoiled? Then what would you call your stupidity about mentioning cereal and lap dances. Ugghhhh, I have such an ugly image of you, I'm thinking no lap dancer could be paid enough to do one for you. Grow up already.

Not all businesses have private areas that can be set aside for this. I work in an office with 200 people and there are only a few offices and they belong to upper management. I'm sure they would allow someone to borrow an office for half an hour here or there but there's no way we could have a dedicated feeding room.

Besides, what businesses allow babies in the workplace? There would be a steady stream of complaints to HR if we had people bringing babies and toddlers to our office.

I don't have a hard time agreeing. As a woman I still think there is a time and place for breastfeeding. I don't want to see other women whipping their boobs out at a restaurant table, I don't want to see them breastfeeding in the middle of the mall, and I especially don't want to see my co-workers breastfeeding. Either go to the car, restroom, rooms specifically designed for breastfeeding, try to find a place that's as private as possible, or pump before you go out.

So people should schedule their lives around what you want to see? Grow up

Satanick~

If you are referring to me, people don't have to schedule their lives around what I personally want to see, the idea is asinine. However they should respect others instead of forcing people in an uncomfortable situation by breastfeeding in public places such as a restaurant table, or in the middle of the mall. While you may be ok with seeing it, not everyone is and that should be respected. They are perfectly capable of going someplace private or pumping before hand.

redplanet is going to get banned. Will the people ever learn?

Yeah. . . guessing RedPlanet neither has nor needs kids. I would feel bad for his kids to have to live with him if he frequently sounds the way he does above. . . .Have to say, though, I haven't seen many other people who are able to keep their grammar decent on a rant!

Wait a minute . . . RedPlanet is a guy and does not want to see boobs? Huh. Um, Ok. . .?

Anyway, I nursed my children and support breastfeeding. Nursing has also been proven to increase IQ, something that seems to be declining in current years... am hoping more people decide to breastfeed!

This law is really absurd. Pumping breastmilk is a timely endeavor. (It usually took me 30 minutes to get 5 ounces, and that's in "full" mode.) And how is the average workplace going to provide private space, let alone the needed refrigeration for this type of thing? And the law doesn't even define what is a reasonable number or length of time for breaks. "As needed" requires a lot of honesty on the part of nursing mothers, and can easily serve as an excuse to privately text, check Facebook, play Solitaire, or any number of smart-phone indulgences. Besides, the more you pump or nurse, the more milk is produced, and therefore the more breaks you'll need. It's a neverending cycle that makes nursing mothers useless at work. If companies want to oblige, that's great, but a federal mandate is absurd!! And what if you can't pump? Are we going to actually let you retrieve your child from daycare every 3 hours for his snack? I'm all about accommodating breastfeeding in public, but when you're at work, you need to be available like everyone else.

(But good point about smokers. They shouldn't get special breaks either. If you can't do it in your 15 minute breaks or your lunch break, you just can't do it!)

snack

When I read that one word, I knew you are with out understanding. It is not a snack. It is a meal. Snacks aren't required for survival, meals are.

Quit being such a money grubber. Living life is about way more than who can stack up the biggest pile of money.

James,

I have exhausted my thoughts on this subject. You can't reason with people who have generations-long backwards thinking like Redplanet.

I'm so sorry to hear you never had the opportunity to have children. The kind and supportive comments you've made in here are testament to the fact you not only would have made a great father, but you would have been a great support for the mother of your children. If only there were more men like you, this world would be a better place. I am lucky enough to have a husband who wholeheartedly supported my choice to breastfeed our children, and helped me every single way he could, unlike some of the hideous posters in here, and you know who you are. Women shouldn't be shunned or isolated for trying to do the right thing. I'm thankful to have had the chance to read your thoughtful posts.

I wish you well always... you are a sweet man.

Lemonverbeena, you're a luck woman. So many people throw it all away for poor or unworthy reasons. I sometimes wonder if some of the people/posters had an event in their lives that caused them to be callous. If so, I sure hope they can one day let go of their pain, and can begin to enjoy all life has to offer once more.

I thought it funny. Once I told my dad I was sorry for not giving him a grandchild. Told him I really tried hard. He replied that he was glad I didn't have to go through all that hell. I couldn't help but to crack up laughing when he said it.

You are really showing your ignorance here, but don't let that stop you.

Renee,

The point is they (new moms), need to get off the time clock to do it... For those moms that think it is ok to feed a baby in public without covering up, no it is not ok... You do not know what kind of perv is lurking by and young boys and girls get a thrill out of seeing breasts... Regardless of how you think it should be taken... So get out of the public eye!

John@

I agree to an extent, Let me explain. As a business owner why should I be forced to provide a special room for some one and not for all, I already supply a break/lunch room Gender specific lavatories to include showers. Now I need to supply another room just for breast feeding/pumping. I supply breaks, lunches that are worked out for the best of my company and employees. Now I need to supply breaks that are convenient for breast feeding/pumping. That costs my company extra time and cuts into the time of my other employees. Is not the time and convenience of my other employees worth as much as the breast feeding/pumping employees?

I have several employees that smoke, they do not even get a special place to smoke and they out number the Breast feeding/pumping employees. Smoking is not even allowed at my workplace and smokers still work here and enjoy the workplace.

That being said we already supply a special room for breast Pumping and have for over 15 years we even have an assortment of pumps depending on what they have bottles to fit. But we also have an on-site medical clinic for our employees only that uses our insurance and charges only $10 copay whereas every other clinic charges $35

So I think that our employees have it good and so do most of our employees (Over 2500) of them

If I owned a business and the friggin government told me I had to do this I'd shut the freakin place down and move overseas. This is just one more reason business is relocating offshore. Anyone wanting to breastfeed at work AND get paid for it and someone else has to pick up the slack, well you have your head screwed on wrong. I ain't married to ya and I'm not responsible for ya and I pretty much don't want to carry you. You want it both ways.

Renee, I agree with you 100%. Speaking to someone who won't abide by the law to provide a room for nursing mothers, instead willing to spend countless amounts of money to move his (pretend) business overseas isn't worth your time. If you'd be willing to spend I don't know how much more to move a business overseas, you can't be too bright. Don't waste your time opening a business Jack, you would fold within 6 months.

Jack... didn't anyone tell you "ain't" is a no-no? It immediately says "hillbilly".

Maybe when business owners look at their employees and see people instead of a commodities then perhaps things can be better for all.

What exactly were they envisioning when they wrote this law? Do all nursing mothers work in offices or call centers with extra rooms, where they can mozy off randomly and their co-workers can cover for them? What about the jobs where they are actually needed?

How can you accommodate a bus driver, who decides they need to pull over mid-shift, with a bus load of kids, and find a private room to pump?

What about a teacher or professor, who decides to exit for a 30-minute pump break, leaving the students in her 45-minute class twiddling their thumbs?

What about emergency responders? Do we need to pay an extra one to be on the clock at all times, in case the nursing moms decides to break for pumping?

What about construction workers, road construction staff, field technicians, oil platform crews, field researchers, surgeons, gas station personnel, boat dock crews, factory line workers and meat/fish processing crews, etc.? All these professions lack the resources to reasonably accommodate breastfeeding facilities and/or letting an employee mozy off regularly for that purpose. It absolutely requires extra staffing to make up for possible pumping breaks, which amounts to paying two people to perform the duties simultaneously.

Breastfeeding is great, but it's not universally compatible with working outside the home.

ummm, Jack? If you closed your business and moved over seas because you didn't want to pay for a breastfeeding room, you'd be really stupid, because in MOST of the world it is law to allow women to have 6 MONTHS of paid maternity leave (half paid for by the company and up to an additional YEAR of Breast feeding time (meaning they work half days for full time pay for six months and/or are allotted 1-2 hours a day (broken up) to pump, or nurse, or go home and nurse their babies...on the company's DIME...So...yeah, you should totally and surely close your US business where you get away with MURDER, and open up a business in the real world. Good luck to you.

I am a teacher and I nursed my infant/pumped at work for the first year...here's what I did...I nursed the baby or pumped on my prep classes...while I marked in a free classroom or meeting room. You don't just have a pumping emergency...it's sort of like clockwork...every couple of hours at the start and then as the months go by every four or five hours...for about 20-30 minutes...do you know any bus drivers or EMS drivers or teacher who are NOT given 30 minutes every 4 to 5 hours? Let's not engage in logical fallacies that undermine the argument you are trying to make: Girls should stay home if they want kids...only men get to have their children and their careers, too, right?

John...Let's remember the law doesn't ask you to build a Nursing only room, they only ask you to have a private space, it could be merely a cubicle with a chair in the corner, that can when needed be used to nurse or pump...this is hardly a RADICAL, liberal idea...it's sort of standard practice around the world, people. Some countries even demand that if you have more than five employees (not even necessarily women) who have children under school age, you have to open and maintain a FREE childcare service for them ON SITE. How about them apples.

Welcome to the year 2012. It's kind of a new trend, but we actually care about women's rights in this century, and not forcing women to choose between being a parent and being a successful viable working citizen (just like men have been afforded since...pretty much FOREVER) in the career of their choice. Fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

PS: I have breastfed in public and if my grandpa heard you talk about me that way he'd come back from the dead and teach you some manners. How RUDE! Who's the one without honor and decency, the mother feeding her child or an old man calling young mothers names on the internet...for shame, sir, for shame!

You shouldn't be any more turned on by a woman breast feeding than you are changing your daughter's diaper. What is wrong with you people.

Since the corporations took advantage of women's lib and made it necessary for both spouses to work, they should have to accommodate all preschool children at work and pay for after school care of children in school, at the school. The mothers could take turns caring for the children at work. The government should both require it and provide a tax incentive and/or subsidy to compensate for it.

That answer is so long we wouldn't have time to type it, soft. Seeing mostly nude mannequins in windows or parts hanging out in public is fine if you're trying to sell things or show how sexy you are, but if you go to feed your child people get all worked up. Nice. And the sad part is that the people who get the most worked up are women. Let's support each other instead of tearing each other down, ladies. This is a step forward, not some rule to hang out...geez.

Then the lovely author (I use that term loosely) of this article felt the need to use the silly word "avenger" in the title. Perhaps the person who wrote it needs to go get educated as well.

Last I checked, child bearing isn't in any companies requirements for employment.

If you have children, it's not anyone else's job but yours to care for it.

I can just see the collapse of many businesses with this approach. Just imagine the hundreds of thousands of children a Dollar Store type company would have to care for daily.

Until a company controls the reproductive rights of its employees, they should bear no responsibility to babysit them.

Glad I caught your edit. I also refuse to have my tax dollars used so women can breast feed at work. Since it's your idea, you can fund it.

I have no issue with women breast feeding in public as long at the breast isn't exposed for all to see, but fail to see why someone would have their infant at work with them to begin with.

NYMike

Last I checked, child bearing isn't in any companies requirements for employment.

If you have children, it's not anyone else's job but yours to care for it.

And no one is saying that. They will just get breaks to take care of feeding their kids. Learn to read.

This isn't a child care law, the Dollar Store will not have to care for children....just provide a place for mothers to breastfeed (even a managers office would suffice I'm sure)

Softdude??? Nobody thinks its sexual duuude. Its just isn't a class act and its totally unnecessary duuuude.

They will just get breaks to take care of feeding their kids. Learn to read.

Eh? I think you need a reading comprehension class. Someone is saying that and that was my response. Here, I'll quote it since you seem to not have read it.

they should have to accommodate all preschool children at work and pay for after school care of children in school, at the school.

Now do you understand my reply? Are you just glancing over the comments? One should not have to quote other posters to be understood.

This isn't a child care law, the Dollar Store will not have to care for children

Guess you have to quote other posters so others wont get confused. Read the posting by Softdude (4.2) so you can understand my reply. Thanks.

Softdude,

Women's Lib was shoved down the throats of Corporate America. If women wanted in the mens work place and equal pay, why did the men have to do most of the changing... You must actually be a young woman showing a picture of a older man... Or your just off the boat from another Country!!! Because you did not live through the changes in the corporate world I and many others have...

You are definitely soft and it sounds like you're trying to score points.

NYMike

They will just get breaks to take care of feeding their kids. Learn to read.

Eh? I think you need a reading comprehension class. Someone is saying that and that was my response. Here, I'll quote it since you seem to not have read it.

Do you always spout your nonsense without quoting who you are talking about? Learn 2 interweb

Learn 2 interweb

How about you learn to read a new post and the following replies instead?

When someone makes a new post, like Softdude did with his #4 post, the ones numbered 4.1, 4.2 and so on, are in response to what the person posted in the #4 post.

It is really that difficult to understand? Seems to be so for you. You would rather be snide than use common sense.

Do you change your daughter's diaper in the middle of a cafeteria? Sure breast feeding is natural but so is urinating and defecating as well as having sex and masturbating. Some things are best done in private. And why the hell are women bringing their babies to work instead of leaving them in daycare? Why not let men bring their kids to work too. Actually, no one should be bringing their kids to work.

Wendywiesenthal....Excellent point!!! How come urinating in public is punishable by law whipping out a boob isnt??? Peeing is a natural occurence just like breast feeding!!! And maybe some of us with young kids don't want to be forced into having to explain the facts of life to our kids before we want to just because some fanatic can't take the time to throw a blanket or cloth over her boob???? What about my rights?? Apparently breast feeding supercedes my rights!!!

The simple reason we are not allowed to eliminate bodily waste on the street is disease. If everyone was peeing and pooping all over the place, we can expect a 7th cholera pandemic.

As for your rights. Exactly how does breast feeding infringe on your rights?

For everyone complaining about accommodating parents' ability to care for their children (I'm not defending this absurd law, just in general), because reproduction is a choice and therefore parents' responsibility to "figure it out," might I suggest that you stop exploiting these children then? Find your own way to fund Social Security, Medicare and massive federal spending. These children, which are "not your responsibility" have inherited the debt for your inflated standard of living. For as long as you plan to pass the bill onto progeny instead of balance your own affairs, I think you have a vested interest in looking out for today's children. So they can grow up healthy and productive for when you suck them dry in your elderly years, with all the care and benefits you've entitled yourselves to but won't be able to afford with your own lifetime savings.

reproduction is a choice

Without which the human race would cease to exist. Not much of a choice.

Nah, we are in the age of entitlement. I say this as a woman who decided kids aren't for me...frankly I am sick of picking up the slack for women that do. I've worked jobs where before they go on maternity leave, they are too siiiick and tiiiired to do their jobs and make excuses and miss work. Then they go on maternity leave and the ones left behind have to pick up the slack and clean up the messy work they leave behind.

Then comes the kids getting sick every other day and missing work for that.

Now this. Unlimited, untimed breaks, I am sure.

Don't tell me there is no entitlement involved in this stuff. Want proof?

When my husband got cancer, I was researching his disability options and what I had to do to file and make sure everything was taken care of. When I googled for information I saw mostly forums of women whining that they should be able to have babies, no longer work and still collect pay from somewhere. That their pregnancies and stay at home mom decisions should be considered disability and qualify for disability pay because they were doing The Most Important Job in the World™.

That's pretty much when I lost respect for women of this mindset. My husband would have preferred to be healthy and keep working every day, unlike those lazy cows.

You dont get to complain about entitlements and then try and collect disability for your husband. Makes you look foolish.

It's disability insurance he paid for out of every paycheck. Even the Social Security insurance is insurance he paid into from every paycheck. So there goes your argument.

We were also using this because he got sick from no choice of his own. Having a kid is a choice, so I get annoyed when some of the mothers play martyr because their choices resulted in them being inconvenienced.

No Mike, she's right. Pregnancy is not a disability, it's a choice.

RENI- stop being reasonable,haven't you read the other posts?(redplanet especially -wow,hope that baby hater ain't reproducing)anyway,I was also curious who keeps an infant at work?This can't really be a common thing is it?And as far as the other overly bitter folks who won't be inconvenienced by a nursing mother- it's a temporary thing.If a co-worker had a broken leg or other temporary illness you can't help that person because it's not fair to YOU?That's just pathetic.It's easy to be offended by anyone(yes, nursing moms too) who exude the "in your face" attitude.The moms should really be more discreet just out of common courtesy.A trait sorely lacking in our "progressive" society.

Miss Sashay you're an idiot.. who do you think is paying for your husband's disability while he is NOT working? The kids of everyone else who are working. All this argument that other people's kids are not your problem is so stupid it's beyond comprehension. They are everyone's problem, they are members of society, we do not live in a bubble people, if that's what you want then go off the grid somewhere.

Miss Sashay, Soooo true!!! Mike-416 must be young and naive or just plain retarded. I have three back injuries from when I was working at the shipyard. I can relate to the disability hassles. Mike-416 obviously doesn't have a clue that we PAY for SSD and other disability ins, and the hassle we have to go through to get our OWN money that WE earned and worked hard for that already belongs to us.

Yourekidding, you said it so perfectly and to the point. It is their CHOICE. not ours!!!!! And if they did not want a baby then they should have been responsible ADULTS and used double birth control. By that, I mean condoms and the pill. My wife and I did and never had an "accident child".

I toyed with not commenting on you again redplanet, figuring that some people just aren't worth the time. While I still feel that way, I am going to post anyways simply because lunacy just needs to be tempered sometimes.

You're obviously crude and classless given your "lap dance" comment and your "cereal" comment and my vision of you makes me just want to heave. You talk about people's choices to have children, and you had some of your own and it's just sad that you produced children in accordance of the obvious abuse that you grew up with. Your disdain for women and lack of respect thereof is something you should seek counselling for. I'm sure working on a pig farm has been limiting for you, but your angry spewing rants against women make you nothing but a sociopath.

I had to pay for diability insurance out of my paycheck every 2 weeks for my maternity leave pay as well. We all don't get free rides when it comes to maternity leave. I was off for 6 weeks prior to my delivery due to complications, and the 6 weeks after as well. My disability was all used up. If I could afford to stay home to breastfeed my baby in private, you better believe I would!! Luckily I can shut my door and pump in private every 3 hours (my 2 fifteen minute breaks and my lunch time). I could stay home and be one of those people that loses their house and goes on welfare to help feed my family...

No phxgrl it is you that is an idiot. He is trying to collect his OWN money that was deducted from his OWN hard earned check. When we get paid the company we work for deducts money from our checks called Social Security. That money is collected by the us government and is SUPPOSED to be set aside for the very reason that Miss Sashays husband needs it. Unfortunately the absolutely crooked US government borrows (STEALS) it for things other than its rightful use. Then, when someone has need of their OWN hard earned money that the US government STOLE from them they make them jump through all kinds of hoops just to be told NO you can't have your OWN money. So you see it is he that is paying HIS own disability and YOU obviously did NOT know this or you wouldn't have made such an ignorant remark.

redplanet-2690269

Miss Sashay, Soooo true!!! Mike-416 must be young and naive or just plain retarded. I have three back injuries from when I was working at the shipyard. I can relate to the disability hassles. Mike-416 obviously doesn't have a clue that we PAY for SSD and other disability ins, and the hassle we have to go through to get our OWN money that WE earned and worked hard for that already belongs to us.

Most people who collect disability collect way more than they pay in genius due the their reduced time in the work field. I know critical thinking hurts - but try and keep up.

redplanet-2690269Miss Sashay, Soooo true!!! Mike-416 must be young and naive or just plain retarded.

35 - 2 kids - 2 college degrees and an IQ between 120-129 according to the Stanford Binet criteria.

I think its clear who the stupid one is here.

That is what insurance is all about. When you need it, you generally collect more than what you pay in (kind of like life insurance). The idea is that most people never need it - because it is an "insurance policy".

Lemonverbeena

I do respect Ladies but NOT irresponsible women have kids and expect society to cater to them when the RESPONSIBILITY gets too burdensome. Just because a woman is a female doesn't automatically make her a LADY. And dumb A$$ grow a sense of humor the lap dance and cereal comment was a joke. My mom and wife laughed their a$$e$ off at it, hell, they thought it was hilarious. It appears to the three of us that it you that needs a shrink. 'cause you R-E-A-L-L-Y sound like you have some serious issues. While I'm at it shut the fk up.

You just don't get it. Women are trying to stay in the workforce and provide for their families which is responsible, not irresponsible. I suggest you consult with a dictionary.

Your classless comments say otherwise. They lack taste and class and the fact that your Mom and your wife would laugh at such disgusting behavior just screams doublewide and missing teeth to me.

irresponsible women have kids

It is amazing how people can take something so basic for human survival, like having babies, as being an irresponsible act especially when they are trying to hold a job at the same time.

Seems like that mother should be honored and held in high esteem.

I will give honor to you, and thank you mothers for doing the right thing. I give you my profound thanks because if not for you none of us would be here. What a profound act of love you are privileged to experience. I am happy being a man, but in a way I envy the women. What could compare to the closeness and love of a mother and child in such an act as breast feeding? A woman gets to have that as a child and as an adult, but a man only gets to have that as a child and few remember.

James, you are so lovely and you have singlehandedly undone all the classless, crude and tasteless remarks of so many in here.

I don't know if you are married, but if you are, your wife is lucky. Health and happiness to you always!

You're to kind Lemonverbeena.

I was once married, but am not now. I'll tell you also that I have never brought any children into the world. I reckon that is why things like this stick in my craw so much. People so callously demeaning something so beautiful. Something that others would love to be a part of, but it never happened for them. As a man it would please me to see my woman's love displayed in such a manner. I would feel secure and happy knowing my child is so loved.

It's not to hard people. Don't throw away a chance to really live life. Experience every part of it and be glad you are able to.

Y'know, James, I think you've made just about the best point of the day. If people like Red and MissPriss had their way, and no one ever had kids, the human race would soon be extinct. Kids are necessary to the survival of the species, and when they are old and gray, it will be MY kids salary that is paying for THEIR social security. Kinda makes me mad just thinking about it.

Oh please, what people have paid into Social Security does not cover what they take out of it. The fund is bankrupt. The only thing keeping checks going out to seniors and "disabled" people are the input of healthy young people who will never see a dime of it. It is children who grow up and support the older generations, who voted for all these extravagant entitlements for themselves, then borrowed from those funds so they could have even more perks, leaving the younger generation to pay for all of it when the time came. Of course, when the older generation was living it up, they were too comfortable with their nest eggs to question where all the money was actually going, so they just spring the bill on their children/grandchildren.

When you fill in for the mother on maternity leave, or have to stay at work while she gets to go home and care for a vomitting child, think of it as your contribution to the next generation of doctors that treat you in your old age, and producers that provide you with all the food and goods you buy someday, and every one else who funds your Social Security, Medicare, and nursing home costs because you didn't save up enough money and your piddly contributions over the years certainly don't cover it. You're awfully stingy for a member of the real entitlement generation that lacked accountability and then passed on trillions of dollars of debt for our children to deal with.

JLM-268998, So what you're saying is, if someone makes us promises that they will do one thing (like paying social security benefits) if you do something (like pay into FICA every week), and they aren't able to keep up their end of the bargain, then it is our fault.

Is that what you're saying? If it is I would advise everyone out there to never make a deal with you.

I certainly am saying your generation was accountable for its government's actions. That is the right and responsibility of citizens in a democracy. The "someone" you allude to is a government "of the people, by the people, for the people," and the people that double-dipped was your generation. No one questions fiscal decisions when all is well for them. But that was exactly the time to do it: when the funds were still there. The fact that your generation was irresponsible and uninformed does not give them the right to bill my children! My children weren't the ones voting and lobbying back then, and they're certainly not the ones who benefitted from it.

It's the voters fault. They shouldn't have voted for them people who said one thing when running for office, then did another when in office. They should know better than to vote for people like that.

Being an active citizen is more than voting. It's lobbying, using the right of free speech and press to publicize concerns, demanding accountability, scrutinizing budgets, drafting voter initiatives, etc. That generation was not asking the questions and demanding accountability like we are now.

But I see some are still complaining about perceived entitlements toward today's parents. Regardless of whose fault it is (theirs), the only solution is a bailout by our children. So it's pretty ridiculous to complain about these children's basic needs interrupting a workday every now and then. That's nothing compared to the bill they are getting to bail out the older generations' bankrupt entitlement funds.

I've got to give you credit for imagination, JLM-268998.

Anyone who can tie the issue of breast feeding to Social Security entitlements are truly imaginative indeed.

True. I'm not advocating this ridiculous law at all, but rather responding to general outrage against working parents by non-parents who feel they are missing out. Yeah, because leaving work early to tend to a puking child is SO MUCH FUN.

Reni, to answer your question...when I Breastfed my son and daughter at work I had my nanny swing by at the morning break and in the second half of lunch (sometimes I went home for lunch as I lived quite close) so I could nurse them. If she couldn't come, I pumped. I think most times the rooms would be used for pumping.

You said it perfectly!

Let me get this right. Women can't breastfeed in public because it's not modest and is trashy...but men should be able to stare and not get the 'perverted stare'.

Let me get this right. Women can't breastfeed in public because it's not modest and is trashy...but men should be able to stare and not get the 'perverted stare'.

Yes and No let the Twins breath and yes i will stare , proud pervert.

I love women and i am not ashamed to say it !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (.)(.) ;-)

Yeah, women only belong in two places; the kitchen and the bedroom, right? Let's have a return to the 19th century.

Yes please, return to your god.....we have no need for your kind here.

There is no reason to provide anything for anyone. If an employee gets out of line hit him with a pick handle. If someone (smaller) gets in your way just shove them. Do something for someone- don't be absurd. And step on anyone to advance. these are the lessons of the American economic society since greed was declared useful and selfishness was introduced as official government policy some 30 years ago. It's no longer about your country and it's commonweal, it's about YOUR MONEY!

These aren't penthouses that companies need to provide, just a small clean space with an electrical outlet.

Employers are required by law to provide their employees the necessary facilities for the natural things our bodies HAVE to do...like urinating, pooping, and eating...and I hate to break it to you, but breastfeeding IS one of those things.

Children ,especially infants do not belong in the work place, Who is watching this womans child while she is flipping burgers or shaking out the hot greasy fries at McDonald's or pouring hot coffees or teas at Starbucks, Is there not a danger to the child while at these workplace, Is the employer now required to provide workplace insurance coverage for these infants.

Yeah, women only belong in two places; the kitchen and the bedroom, right? Let's have a return to the 19th century.

Women have made great progress in the necessary quest to become even competitors with men in the workplace but when they make the decision to have a child then that changes and they now have a responsibility for the health and safety of that child , So while the kitchen and the bedroom are not the only 2 places they should be their employer should not be forced to accommodate them because they want to bring their children to work.

Whats next...Female police officers breast feeding their kids while walking a beat or driving their patrol car.

Yes please, return to your god.....we have no need for your kind here.

Who is this we...Please do not pretend that you speak for everyone or that what you think is the only correct position, And exactly what kind do you think the person is?

INTERESTED-492485There is no reason for a company to PROVIDE a place for a woman to breastfeed. We now have a bunch of idiots running the country. Call all sex offenders, we now have free shows for you.

Dumbest thing I have read all day. Congrats!

The law is not stating that children should be permitted in the work place. Just that women who need to pump should have a place to do so.

I managed to breastfeed all three of my children past the 1 year mark while working full time. I used my regularly scheduled breaks (that all employees received) to pump milk for my babies, instead of gossiping around the water cooler or surfing the internet or smoking or whatever else people do during their breaks. Actually, since I had an office, I pretty much kept working while I pumped and took no break at all.

All women want is a place to pump that is clean and private. After years of putting women in nasty broom closets complete with rat droppings (literally), my employer FINALLY has a quiet, private room available for all lactating employees to use. This is a good thing for the employer (who gets to keep a happy, productive worker less likely to take sick leave), mother (who gets to provide nourishment for her baby), baby (who gets the nourishment designed for him/her).

Interested: Pretty sure Jesus was breastfed. Think he's going to support it. . . I am not saying it should put the employer out of their way, just somewhere clean with a closed door to pump. (By the way, to actually feed the infant at work the norm would be the babysitter or family member keeping the child brings him at the beginning of your break to eat; this is much faster than pumping and allows you to get back to work faster.) And yes, I nursed and pumped, and did not "milk the system".

I totally agree. Someone's work place is not the place for children, especially babies. These people were hired, and being paid to do a job. If breast feeding is that important to them, they need to stop working for a while, until their child is weaned. An employer should not be penalized, for a person's decision to have a child.

Please re-read, and if you knew anything about breast feeding you would know that weather a woman has her child with her or not, she needs to express milk. Doing that in the same place you deficate is not sanitary by any strech of the imagination. Do you guys eat lunch on the crapper? ...or have you food prepared by someone on the crapper?

Once again, our government uses it's authority to create more laws for people with less common sense then them! Most working moms I know, have contingency plan after contingency plan in place for the necessary care their infants need in regards to healthy breast feeding. Many of these post, would suggest that there is a multitude of newbie mothers, that had no clue on how to breast feed their child until government created a law to show them how! Use your brains folks, you would think that the use for a woman's breast to feed an infant just came to light last week.

Thank you, "Target breast feeding mom", on your recent biological innovation.

Tweet,

'Decision'! Correct, the company should not be held accountable for a decision they were not involved in...

Wow...I cant believe some of these comments. People are so very ignorant. Women have been breast feeding in and out of the public eye since the beginning of the human race. A woman who chooses to have a child and chooses to breast feed should be allowed to do so as necessary. I am not saying whip out your boob in the middle of Time Square, be discreet about it, use a blanket over the shoulder and over the baby. There is nothing wrong with that. As a mother of 2 who breast fed I would have loved these accommodations at work. Not to goof off, just simply to be able to feed my baby. With my first, I went back to work just 5 weeks later and was unable to even pump at work, had to switch him to formula just a week later. Ask any mother who has breast fed what happens if you cant express your milk, it can be extremely painful, can cause infection (mastitis), uncomfortable and embarrassing when your breasts are so full that they leak. So yeah a mother, doing the right thing, (ie. going to work to support her family and actually wanting to raise them) should not have to feel ashamed or uncomfortable. The standard 30 minute lunch and 2 15 minute breaks (with a clean and private environment in which to do it) would suffice for a mother pumping. Thankfully with my second child I was layed off in my 8th month and was able to stay home for a little bit, while earning my degree.

All of these ignorant a$$holes who feel that a woman shouldnt have children and work should be more willing to pay the taxes that support her on welfare, because that is what will happen. Often times a 2 income household struggles...what will happen if a mother has to stay out of work until her baby is weaned...can be as little as 6 months to a year. You are all crazy! And for those who think a woman shouldn't procreate if they must still work to support their family, you should be thankful your mother did make that choice...too bad she did....

Times have changed, women not only want to work but we have to. We also still have to be the main care giver (in most cases) for our offspring. So all of you ignoramises think that only the rich should have children?...what a world that would create. You think entitlement is an issue now...wait 'til all those self absorbed, nanny raised little brats grow up with everthing handed to them on a silver platter, you dont think they will want all the free handouts they have been accostomed to all their lives.

Wow...these comments make me so angry I cant even get my thoughts written out properly...people really make me sick...! end rant

This doesn't necessarily mean a woman will have a baby at work. I'm pretty sure this is about pumping, not about the "right" to take babies to work all day. But probably if somebody had the option of having a babysitter bring a baby for feeding, it would be the same thing as pumping. It doesn't take that long.

Breastfeeding mothers NEED to pump their breasts every so often or they are in pain or will get an infection. The breasts fill with milk and must be emptied. I'm sure that anyone working a short enough shift to avoid having to pump at work would choose to do so. Pumping is not fun. It's not like a mini-vacation. It's a real pain in the neck. That's why most working mothers just stop breast-feeding--if they ever breast-fed to begin with.

The VAST MAJORITY of American babies are not breast-fed for any significant length of time at all, and only a tiny percentage of moms are breast-feeding an infant over six months, so this is a whole lot of hoo-ha over nothing. Very few women will take advantage of this new law. But for those who have asked their employers and are struggling to both breast-feed and work, it will give them the leverage they need to find a clean place to pump. No one is going to be creating posh breast-feeding lounges for the masses. My last employer just put up a screen with a chair behind it in a corner of the employee's break room. He really valued the employees, and everybody felt very loyal to the company because of that.

I do not know ANYONE that "just works for 8 hours" everyone does personal things at work...you chat with friends, you shmooze, you check your blackberries and text your lovers, and check e-mail and watch ridiculous youtube videos...PUH-lease...most people could do their day's "work" in about 2 hours TOPS, the rest is filled with mindless meetings and filler-fluff to make us look productive...what is the big deal about a couple of breaks to nurse a baby or (much much more likely) PUMP...people are not going to have their babies at work all day long, just during the nursing breaks if they happen to have the baby in a nearby location, but more likely than not, they will pump...which the have to do...like a diabetic needs his insulin, and a smoker needs his nicotine...it's not a choice.

Please re-read, and if you knew anything about breast feeding you would know that weather a woman has her child with her or not, she needs to express milk.

"And as to the women who think it is only natural to breast feed while walking down the aisle in Target..Would you feel the same way if someone urinated or defecated into a container while walking down the aisle or walked down the aisle naked...after all it is only natural."

Yes, realasing infectious waste is the exact same thing as feeding a child......wow. That, my fiends has to be the most retarded analogy I have EVER heard in my life.

According to the CDC, breastmilk can carry HIV and other infectious diseases. Considering how it's the norm now to have sex on the first date and change partners like you change the linens, then yes, there should be a concern. Feces can carry disease too.

LostInThePineBarrens

And as to the women who think it is only natural to breast feed while walking down the aisle in Target..Would you feel the same way if someone urinated or defecated into a container while walking down the aisle or walked down the aisle naked...after all it is only natural.

Did you just compare defecating to providing milk for a baby? OMFG LOL!

Now I'm my soap box. No this isn't about Muslims its just turning into it. You feel because your breast feeding you should be given extra breaks and a special place to breast feed. And now it becomes hypocritical, this all started with women wanting to breast feed in public, to me no problem. Now they want a special place at work to off to and feed. What happen to the public thing now its private.

Its simple, you are given by law a 10 min break every 2 hours worth of work at 1 half hour break for lunch. Do it then, or pump on your time. As for the special places, there are bathrooms if you don't like to do it in public.

Forcing employers to make special accomdations for particular groups has got to stop.

Heaven forbid a multi-million dollar corporation spend any of their money on their employees.....what the hell are these women thinking about?!?!?!?!

This doesn't just apply to multi-million dollar companies. Also, multi-million dollar companies that have sales of 2 million and may make a profit of $100,000 (or lose money). These companies have a lot better things to do with the profit than build a new work space - like buy new equipment and hire employees for new markets.

How about the manager providing part of their office for private breastfeeding - it doesn't require a large room - no one is asking for a breastfeeding lounge.

That's fine, and timing can be worked out. The issue I really have is that there is a law requiring accommodation with no definition of the requirement. In fact, all companies declined comment on how they made the accommodation.

The problem is like many laws, it is open to interpretation by employees, lawyers and government officials as to what is appropriate. An office loaned out to a nursing employee seems appropriate to me, but may not be to someone else.

Yeah, you're right... we want eKornes chairs, flat screen tvs and food served to lactating mothers. You better start applying to work overtime Giligan. We're out to get you.

As for Hopeful American? Yes, six weeks is a short amount of time for a woman who has had a c-section which is major surgery. I can't tell if you're a she or a he, but I've had both births, and both take considerable recovery time. In my opinion, it is also too short a time to bond with your baby, but sometimes people's finances and survival demands two incomes so they have to go back.

Just give the women some place to pump, for God's sake, and not a bathroom. The obviously slovenly men who would eat their lunch in a bathroom, is disgusting. When a public toilet is flushed, whatever is being flushed flies through the air at least 10 feet. I want to personally watch the guys in here wolf down a sandwich while Gus, Steve and Percy are flushing what's left of yesterdays hungry man tv dinner.

Last, all these bitter men (mostly) but some women (Miss Sashay, who seems bitter) should thank their mothers for having you in the first place, put up with your ugliness all those years, wiping up your snot, poop, puke, etc. Without these mothers, you wouldn't be here. Some of you, your mothers should have stayed on permanent birth control.

2 1/2 hours is fine......expressing or feeding in the same place were you deficate is not sanitary by any streach of the imagination. Do you eat lunch on the crapper?

I never said that. I agree that it should be permissible at work, just that I think that there is adequate time and space already given to employees to accommodate them.

You are right. I currently am breastfeeding my 3.5 month old and that is all I need. I do it once in the morning, once during my lunch and once in the afternoon. The law isn't really giving people anything new. It isn't even saying that women should be paid for that time. It is just saying that they are entitled to take those breaks. With my pump, it takes me less than 10 minutes. I bought the high-end pump so that I could do it quickly. People probably spend more time than that chit-chatting at the water cooler.

Could it be that there was no other place? Yet another reason for a provided room.

I was a stay at home Mom when I nursed my children. Down an income, we did without a lot, and willingly. Had I been working (kudos to women who can juggle both, my hat goes off to you), I would have gladly used my designated breaks and lunch hour to pump. It's temporary and worth it.

One size does not fit all, like shoes. Some babies can go every 4 hours between feedings, others need to be fed more often. The babies are the ones who dictate a woman's milk supply. I just wish people would get an education on this and stop crucifying women on both sides of the feeding choice. That yadda yadda yadda mother should be ashamed of herself for criticizing a woman's choice to breastfeed when you didn't like being criticized for your choice to use formula.

Because clearly they are talking about adults being fed

LOL Beev! A little levity was needed.

Sure Beev... nice name btw... and every single woman will take immense pleasure watching you hauled away by the police, charged with sexual assault and then placed on a sex offender's list for the rest of your life. PLEASE DO IT, I BEG OF YOU!

The law itself does that. The problem is that the law does not define the time or place requirements, but instead says it is up to the mother to define. That means that feeding for 5 minutes every 10 minutes would be required if that is what the mother requires.

Unfortunately, there are people who will take advantage of the law to extremes.

People will take advantage of everything. Trust me, a woman attaching a breast pump to her breast is only going to do this the amount of times that she needs to. This isn't fun for women, trust me, it's necessary. Women do not need to pump every 5 minutes. They just want a clean private place to do so. Men should be grateful to women who do as this reduces illness in children, therefore less time off for sickness. You'll have to cover the time either way. Why not make a nursing mother happy with a small, private, clean space to pump? I guarantee you she will be more productive and therefore, it is a win-win situation for everyone.

I am an ex-smoke of 20 years. I used to go on breaks and smoke. I cannot tell you the amount of times, myself included, that more than one cigarette was smoked on that supposed 10 minute break. We had a shelter outside to smoke to, a PROVIDED space. If you have ever smoked, you would know that you cannot smoke two cigarettes within a 10 minute period without going over the time.

While both smoking and breastfeeding are a choice, you can hardly compare inhaling carcinogens to that of a mother who chooses to naturally feed her baby.

LOL, Lemonverbeena. I had fantasies of driving my car back and forth over and over my breastpump before my last child weaned. Pumping milk is not a picnic and kind of sucks (har-har-har).

LOL, isn't THAT the truth! And here people in here treat it like we're eating bon-bons on a couch! They're barbaric, and any woman who endures them for the sake of their baby is that much more special in my book.

Thanks for the giggle! :-)

That is the problem exactly! How often is enough? At some point, it would be better for everyone for the mother to stay home to raise their children. It would be cheaper for the company to pay them to stay home.

Ok so here you go with the "Get Over Yourself" dodge. Most the Men I know feel that it is in no way sexy nor is it a practice that needs to be "flaunted" in public, especially a "feed in" at Target. Women seem to be moan Breast as the all important catch all for Men. WRONG. the "men who fixate on Breast have a weak sense of self esteem and even to point of thinking that makes them more "Manly". While Women and even Teen-age Girls are implanting the Country I would suggest that you "get over yourself" it is not Men who created your Myth but the very women who believe without Big Breast there will not be much to attract a mate.......Self Esteem Issue for sure!

Puritanical? I have no problem with women breastfeeding in public if they cover themselves while doing so, but some don't, and if people complain, it is THEY who have "a problem". Yes, breast feeding and breasts are "natural", but so are sex organs and the act of making babies. Maybe we should provide spaces in in the work place and in public for people to procreate too?

For the record, I do not have breast implants. In fact, I don't even know anyone with breast implants. I am currently breastfeeding my 8 month old baby. I am lucky enough to have an office with a door to pump. I do my own job. No one "covers" for me and does my work while I am on "pumping break". I actually respond to emails and have been on conference calls while I am pumping because I have a hands free double pump. Breastfeeding is looked down upon by a lot of people. But I believe it's important (and so does the medical community) and have gone to extreme lengths to pump when away from my baby. I have to travel for my job. That leads to pumping in airport restrooms etc. Now, that doesn't mean that I think every building in America needs a nursing room. I don't think that people should be forced to spend money remodeling their offices and businesses to accommodate pumping...BUT I do think that people need to respect others and their decisions on how to raise their children. If there were no power outlet in the airport restroom, I would be out in the open (albeit with a nursing cover) pumping. Because you HAVE to pump if you want to keep your milk up and feed your baby naturally. And that's not something that anyone should be judged for. Maybe you think it is.

Amen Cary...that is me to a T right now. Glad there are level headed mommas out there! But I do think there does need to be some accomodations made for those who work in the service industry.

I HATE to pump or nurse in a restroom, but I do it if I have to. It would be nice if there was an alternative.

mddr,

I think your refering to a "womans right" to a double standard.

It is amazing what happens to breasts when they change from sexual to be functional. At least from the perspective of a mama.

The law only applies for 1 year after birth.

So let me ask you this Tri- when is enough enough? I have no problems with breast feeding either, however I have seen women pull out their tit in public and stick it in the mouth of a 4 year old. Should we have to be subjected to that as well? Dont you find THAT quite odd? I personally think that anyone who breast feeds their pre-schooler is the one who needs professional help. Just a thought...

You are arguing two different issues.

mimi...........you are exactly what is wrong and you are a woman? don't look if it is that traumatic!!!!!!!! It's just a boob you boob. We're doomed.

Should we have to be subjected to that as well? Dont you find THAT quite odd?

What the heck are you being subjected to? The sight of a woman breast feeding her child causes you no damage. Perhaps it is you, and people like you, who are the problem.

What I find quite odd is the attitudes of people over such a necessary, and natural function.

People really should be appalled by them who feed their children the milk of non-human animals, and concoctions manufactured by man and his machines.

Yeah Mimi, and I've seen countless men belch and scratch their testicles in public... what's your point? You are always going to find people going to extremes in every scenario.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/09/17/octomom-ready-welfare-report-says/

You are always going to find people going to extremes in every scenario.

Yes and the almost always liberals on the left side of the political spectrum.

Ok your a guy. obviously your not going to object to a women just putting herself out there. sicko.

I pumped early in the morning just before working, during my morning break, lunch break and afternoon break. Boom! 4 sessions that cost my employer nothing. Nobody is demanding tons of time off, just a place to pump. Even in retail, employees are entitled to breaks.

I am so sick of moms who just whip out a breast in public,

Where are these moms ?( . )( . ) let the twins breath. kids need to be fed and i am all for it. ;-) Proud Pervert and all male .

I like them big and i like them small i like them all. Burn those bras and Show them if you got them.