House Officers posted at East Ann Arbor reached out to HOA regarding issues with the available accommodations for lactating mothers. As you know, both the HOA contract and the PUMP Act protect the right of nursing mothers to have access to clean, lockable, and functional spaces for the purposes of pumping breast milk.

One of the cornerstones of the PUMP Act is that a bathroom, even if private and lockable, is not a permissible lactation space. House Officers at East Ann Arbor were regularly using a small chair set behind a curtain in the shower area of a bathroom for pumping because they did not have enough time to reach an available lactation space elsewhere in the complex given the short turnaround times between surgeries. After hearing this, the HOA staff worked with Wade Baughman from Labor Relations and Scott Marquette from Operations on the matter. 

As a result of these discussions, the EAA administration will be opening lactation space up for House Officers to use in the faculty office area in the OR suite. If you are a House Officer who requires the use of these spaces in EAA, please contact OR Scheduler Talitha McFadden at 734-232-3065 or via email at gtalitha@umich.edu.

Graduate Medical Education has also talked to Surgery leadership about providing the required break time for mothers who are pumping breast milk. If you are a House Officer who has any issues with finding suitable lactation space or adequate time for pumping, please reach out to HOA.

How long does it take to pump breast milk?

The answer will vary according to the individual needs of each mother, the type of equipment that is used, and the stage at which the mom is breastfeeding (e.g. a young infant versus a child who is 6-12 months old). The more relaxed and secure the environment, the better chance the mother will have for an efficient pumping experience. An average amount of time away from the work site is 30-40 minutes at a time, which includes travel time (assuming that she has a nearby place to pump), time to pump, and time to clean up afterward. Most moms will need to pump every 3-4 hours.