All Terrain Thinking

A Compendium of things I think are Important

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Breast-Feeding in Public?

"Since the general testing room is shared by multiple examinees, the use of a breast pump inside the testing room during the examination would be disruptive to other examinees and is not permitted. Furthermore, the testing rooms do not provide privacy since they are visually monitored.”

So said Catherine Farmer, the manager of disability services for the National Board of Medical Examiners, to the Boston Globe. Farmer was defending the board’s response to a now widely publicized request by Massachusetts-based Sophie Currier to breast-pump during the nine-hour-long clinical knowledge exam that’s required for a medical degree. The exam allows a total of just 45 minutes in breaks, and the exam’s board has refused to give extra time to Currier -- mother to a seven-week-old -- despite the fact that she needs to pump every two to three hours to reduce the chance of blocked ducts, the discomfort of hard breasts or even the possible risk of infection. The reason for the decision, says Farmer, is breast-feeding is not considered a disability.

Correct me if I’m wrong, nursing mothers out there, but sometimes, it sure feels as if you have a disability based on the difficulties you face. Feed your infant in a public place, and not only do people stare, but some go so far as to suggest that public places shouldn’t accommodate you. That’s what one talk radio announcer was advocating the other morning as I drove into work. Do me a favor, moms, he said. Do that sort of thing at home.

Do me a favor, radio talk announcer, and get off the air. At least, that’s what I told the radio.

It is true that progress is being made. Fourteen states, New Mexico the newest among them, now require both public and private employers to create a clean place for breast-pumping near a mother’s work station. And as the Globe article and other articles point out, some 47 states have laws that protect the rights of nursing mothers in varying capacities. Many of those laws protect the right of mothers to breast-feed in public. Massachusetts, however, has no such law.

Personally, I’m grateful for people like Currier who go further than yelling at a radio in the isolation of their car. Admittedly, this woman is not shy about putting herself in the limelight. She was reportedly featured in a Globe column last year about adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and, due to her ADHD and dyslexia, she requested and has been granted twice the usual time to complete the test.

I think Currier should go further still. During those early weeks, if I skipped two feedings, I carried the equivalent of two milk hydrants on my chest. My suggestion to Ms. Currier is to use the extended time to avoid pumping altogether. The result could lead to a very persuasive chorus of complaints advocating for change.

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