One of the problems faced by mothers who work outside the home when returning to their jobs is to continue breastfeeding. And I mention it as problematic because to continue the production of milk it is important to have spaces to remove it or a flexible schedule that allows you to breastfeed your baby.
Sometimes, there are jobs that demand our presence and we need to manage to continue breastfeeding. This was the case of a councilor, who when he was in a public hearing that lasted 6 hours, he decided that the milk would be extracted right there.
Brianne Nadeau is a member of the District of Columbia Council in the United States and is also the mother of a three-month-old baby. She breastfeeds her baby and now that she has returned to work, He usually takes small breaks within his day to go to his office and express milk.
However, recently a public hearing took place that lasted for six hours, and since he didn't want to make his committee take a break, announced that the milk would be extracted right there and thus not interrupt the session. Subsequently, he decided to share it on his Twitter account.
As a new mom, I don't want to recess my committee each time I need to pump so I will be pumping for a short while as our hearing on Rapid Rehousing continues. I believe its the first time it has been done from the DC Council dais. pic.twitter.com/whRF1oTNhu
- Brianne K. Nadeau (@BrianneKNadeau) December 14, 2017
As a recent mother, I don't want to make my committee take a break every time I need to pump, so I'll be doing while the hearing continues. I think this is the first time this has been done from the Columbia District Council stage.
In an interview for The Washington Post, the councilor says that she already had her cordless extractor, which made it easier for her to start pumping, in addition to being silent, it did not cause any interruption during the hearing.
With this action, the councilor joins the list of women in political positions who have recently publicly shown their support for breastfeeding, like the Australian senator who appeared breastfeeding her baby in Parliament and later did it again while filing a motion, a similar situation that happened long ago with an Icelandic legislator.
In addition to doing what she had to do as a nursing mother, the councilor tells Babble why she decided to post it on Twitter:
"I wanted to share my story for other mothers to see that they are not alone. We are all doing our best to juggle between being moms and doing our best at work. It is not easy!", says the councilor.
The reactions about your decision to pump milk during a public hearing They are divided: there are those who applauded her action and there are those who believe that she was distracted from doing her job well to her and the rest of the councilors.
Regarding this last argument, another councilor named Charles Allan, who is the father of two children, expressed himself in favor of his partner: "Counselor Nadeau has things to do. She can lead a hearing and if she needs to express milk, she can do it. It's nothing abnormal, it's very natural and frankly, we encourage it".
Hopefully the number of mothers seeking to support conciliation continues to increase, the necessary changes are made to find a balance between motherhood and work outside of each, and definitely, that maternity is soon stopped as an impediment to professional growth.
