Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the FLSA

Did you know you have rights protected by the federal government as a nursing mother?? Check our Fact Sheet #73 from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division: 


Fact Sheet #73:  Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the FLSA  
This fact sheet provides general information on the break time requirement for nursing mothers in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”), which took effect when the PPACA was signed into law on March 23, 2010 (P.L. 111-148).  This law amended Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

General Requirements  
Employers are required to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” Employers are also required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.” The FLSA requirement of break time for nursing mothers to express breast milk does not preempt State laws that provide greater protections to employees (for example, providing compensated break time, providing break time for exempt employees, or providing break time beyond 1 year after the child’s birth).

Time and Location of Breaks 
Employers are required to provide a reasonable amount break time to express milk as frequently as needed by the nursing mother.  The frequency of breaks needed to express milk as well as the duration of each break will likely vary. A bathroom, even if private, is not a permissible location under the Act.  The location provided must be functional as a space for expressing breast milk.  If the space is not dedicated to the nursing mother’s use, it must be available when needed in order to meet the statutory requirement.  A space temporarily created or converted into a space for expressing milk or made available when needed by the nursing mother is sufficient provided that the space is shielded from view, and free from any intrusion from co-workers and the public.   

Coverage and Compensation 
Only employees who are not exempt from section 7, which includes the FLSA’s overtime pay requirements, are entitled to breaks to express milk.  While employers are not required under the FLSA to provide breaks to nursing mothers who are exempt from the requirements of Section 7, they may be obligated to provide such breaks under State laws. 
Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the FLSA break time requirement if compliance with the provision would impose an undue hardship.  Whether compliance would be an undue hardship is determined by looking at the difficulty or expense of compliance for a specific employer in comparison to the size, financial resources, nature, and structure of the employer’s business.  All employees who work for the covered employer, regardless of work site, are counted when determining whether this exemption may apply. 
     
Employers are not required under the FLSA to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk.  However, where employers already provide compensated breaks, an employee who uses that break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time.  In addition, the FLSA’s general requirement that the employee must be completely relieved from duty or else the time must be compensated as work time applies.


http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.pdf

Oh! The places I’ve pumped …

Most often, I am able to pump in the comforts of my home or in the office’s Mother’s Room.
For those inopportune times where I simply couldn't miss a pumping, I've gotten creative in where I've taken care of business:

• In a car, driving on the expressway
• In a car, driving through town
• In a car, parked in a surface parking lot
• In a car, parked in a parking garage
• In a car, parked on the street
• In a car, in the back seat while on the expressway
• On an airplane, in my seat
• On an airplane, in the airplane’s bathroom
• In a school bathroom
• In my work’s bathroom
• In a restaurant bathroom
• In a bathroom on the set for a commercial shoot
• In the bathroom of a studio
• In a first aid building at Disneyland
• In the hospital
• In a closet at work
• In the doctor's office

Please share the most unusual place(s) you've pumped!

Cleanliness is next to godliness

Keeping your breasts - and especially your nipples! - clean is imperative to warding off bacterial infections, which can cause mastitis (which in turn can lead to an abscess).

I found this little brush perfect for clearing out clotted milk in the shower. I bought it to use it for it's designated purpose - a facial brush - but found it even more useful as a nipple brush. The bristles are soft but effective. The construction is durable enough to leave it in the shower and use every time. The size and shape are aptly made to fit in the palm of your hand with maximum control.

And it's only $3.

http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/skin-care/skin-care-accessories/rounded-handle-facial-brush.aspx

How Do I Increase and Sustain My Milk Supply?

What can you do to sustain your milk and even increase your supply?

• keep WELL hydrated! this is oftentimes the cause for a decrease in production for me
• pump often - figure out your schedule to keep the appropriate amount of milk on hand and stick to it
• pump longer in the morning, when your production is at its peak
• use compression methods while you pump (see previous post for "hands-on pumping" video)
• relax! stress is the other factor that leads to decreased production for me

I can't recommend Mother's Milk tea or other herbal remedies because I haven't used them. I would advise exhausting all other options before introducing any supplements.

The Dirty Details

Finding precise information about how much milk you can expect to produce is nearly impossible. Rightfully so, since it is a very personal matter ... there are many factors that can cause you to produce more / less milk and just as many that can affect how much you're able to store. So. With all of that in mind, I'll share MY details for some perspective ... but be mindful this is me, and YOUR experience will likely be very different.


Breast size: 38C - 36D (depending on bra maker / style)
Total production per day: 30 ounces (887 ml) average
# of daily pumping sessions: 4 minimum, 5 average, 6 max (rare)
Duration of sessions: 15 minutes average, 20 minutes for first session of the day
Production per session: 6 ounces (177 ml) average


The most my breasts have ever held is 7 ounces (207 ml) in each, for a total of 14 ounces (414 ml) produced in one session. This was a morning session after about 11 hours. I do not nurse my son on my breasts ever ... so 100% of my milk production is accounted for in these figures.


Please feel free to share your details!

Maximize Your Milk Production with Hands-On Pumping

This video demonstrates how Expressive Moms can maximize milk production by using compression. No herbal supplements or medications required!

http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html

I Can't Tell You How Much I've Used This Chart ...

When Do I Start Pumping? And How Long Do I Pump?

One of the first things I asked the lactation consultant at the hospital was "when should I begin pumping?" Unfortunately, the consultant on staff was terrible and really couldn't give me an answer. 

So I figured it out on my own.

Let me share my experience with you for some guidance ...

When we went home (after two days in the hospital), I tried pumping colostrum. It just didn't work out. I sat for 20 minutes pumping at the highest level, not really knowing what I was doing, and got a little dribble. I bawled my eyes out ... how was I ever going to feed my baby?? I digress.

So it wasn't until my milk came in (late in the evening of day three) that I tried again. I pumped for 20 minutes on both sides and got about an ounce per breast. It was very yellow-y. None of it was like I expected.

I continued to pump every two hours, for 20 minutes at a time. My supply grew, and soon I was getting two ounces per breast. That's when I decided to cut back on the length of time I pumped, thinking if I got two ounces after 15 minutes, why should I bother with the extra five?

I waffled with how long I pumped - sometimes it was only seven minutes, sometimes 10. I assumed my supply wasn't going to grow any more than it had, so I stopped pumping whenever I got two ounces.

Then logic kicked in ... if I pumped longer, over time my supply would react and I would get more milk. Sure enough, I extended my sessions back to 15 minutes and before long I was getting three ounces per breast, every three hours.

For me, this was the perfect ratio of duration, frequency and output. I pump four to five times a day (six if I’m super disciplined) and am able to keep a very stable and constant supply. There is the one exception of my morning session, which is longer and more productive … but more on that later.

To find your right balance, consider how much milk you produce, how big your breasts are (not discriminating! but bigger breasts hold more milk longer), and how frequently you can commit to pumping.