Research Project Proposal

The topic I would like to explore for my final research assignment is how breastfeeding as a working mother has changed over time. Specifically, I want to discover how mothers that go back to work shortly after giving birth manage to breastfeed and work a full-time job (particularly those in a corporate or office setting), and how this has changed throughout the history of America. I want to dive into how this is and was viewed by others in the office and discover what boundaries are and were placed on women pertaining to pumping at work. 

This topic is timely because in 2023 in America, we see that females have gained more independence than ever before in the history of our country. This is reflected in the workforce, where many women are increasingly forty or more hours per week. In specific, there are many more working mothers than there were in the past, especially when looking at the corporate setting. The role of women in American society is no longer limited to raising their children and working within the household as we see in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Mothers are now encouraged to have a life outside of the household while still being able to take care of their kids. This means that women have to juggle taking care of their babies while also providing for their families. 

One of the major responsibilities of mothers after giving birth is feeding their children. Women that choose to breastfeed are often limited in what they can do outside of the home and how long they can be away from their baby because they are its main source of nutrients. This means that in many instances mothers have to choose between feeding their babies via their breasts or going back to work and providing alternative ways to feed their children such as pumping or formula. 

The concept of mothers providing breastmilk for their babies while also trying to work in an office and provide for their families is not a topic that is commonly discussed. It is not often that you hear about a mother’s experience pumping her breast milk at her desk while working a nine-to-five job. However, this is how my mother provided nutrients for my brothers and me as infants. She worked in finance at a company that was predominantly employed by males and managed to pump in her office multiple times throughout the workday in order to store milk and bottle feed it to us when she got home. 

To this day, my mom is the only person I have ever heard talk about this phenomenon, which is why I am interested in exploring this topic. I also believe that in my research I might uncover the reality that pumping at work is actually common for new mothers who go back to work. I hope my research allows me to dive deeper into revelations about the reality of pumping breastmilk while at work, particularly why it is a topic that is not commonly thought about or explored.

Annotated Bibliography 

About the Author

Essay

Intro:

Breastfeeding is a complex subject that comes with many benefits, challenges, and emotions for mothers and families. As more women began to enter the workforce in the mid-20th century, there became more demand for resources and legislation to support working mothers. There has been a rise in resources available to nursing mothers such as more spaces available in public settings, the invention of the breast pump, and more time off of work for women to feed. These resources have allowed more mothers to balance their careers while breastfeeding and created a shift in the overall societal view and expectations around being a working mother with young children. However, despite this increase in resources and legal protection, working mothers still face challenges in finding the appropriate time and place to breastfeed, worry that breastfeeding will negatively impact their professional success, and fear social stigmas surrounding breastfeeding.

Counterargument:

A counterargument to this topic is that breastfeeding for a working mother doesn’t need to be difficult. This argument comes up in the 1985 book, Breastfeeding Success for Working Mothers. The author, Marilyn Grams, states, “Can working mothers breastfeed? Absolutely. Is it difficult for them to do so? It doesn’t have to be” (5). Grams outlines a list of plans that if followed, will make it so that breastfeeding won’t negatively interfere with work and will not pose any problems for the mother. However, as I outline in this paper, breastfeeding, and working simultaneously is inherently difficult. Despite advances in the legal sphere and available resources throughout the course of history, women who manage to breastfeed and work outside of the home, even in 2023 are bound to be doing more work than the average person and will likely face challenges as a result.

History of Women in the Workforce:

Looking at the early twentieth century, the majority of women devoted themselves to being mothers, which meant working in the home while their husbands had full-time jobs outside of the home (14). By 1930, however, there was a significant increase in the number of women in the workforce, and nearly 50 percent of single women and almost 12 percent of married women participated in the labor force. By the mid-twentieth century, the number of women working in the labor force grew even more and was 18 million out of 62 million total workers (12).  With the passing of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, any discrimination against women, because they are pregnant or have a medical condition related to childbirth, was outlawed (14). This opened even more doors for women to be mothers and simultaneously have successful careers, but still did not deal directly with breastfeeding. In the early 1990s, 74 percent of women aged 25 to 54 were in the workforce, which is significantly more than ever before. Women were also more educated than previously and began to join industries that were previously dominated by men, and the pay gap began to lower.  By the turn of the century, the number of women in the workforce grew to 66 million out of 141 million in total. In just 50 years, the share of women in the labor force grew from around 30 percent to nearly 50 percent (12). Yet, Since the year 2000, the number of women in the workforce has declined (8). However, the percentage of women with a child under one year old in the workplace rose from 20 percent to 62 percent during this same period. At this time, many women’s professional lives became just as important as their families for the first time in history. 

History of Breastfeeding:

Looking at the late 20th century, breastfeeding rates in the United States, “reached an all-time low in the 1970s” (1). Just 23% of mothers breastfed and 10% continued to breastfeed for six months. But, following this decline, there were public health campaigns that pushed the motto, “breast is best,” in addition to other training courses and awareness around breastfeeding. This helped to increase breastfeeding rates, which rose until the early 1980s when it reached an all-time high with almost 60% of babies being breastfed and around 25% for at least six months. But since then, the breastfeeding rates have declined by a little bit over time. 

By the late 20th century, as more and more women managed to work outside of the home and be active mothers, working moms became viewed as overworked. “A working mother is by definition an overloaded person” (10). People began to think that women would not get to experience all of the advantages of breastfeeding that full-time nursing mothers did. For example, it was thought that direct nursing without having to go through the process of preparing a bottle was much easier and allowed for more time to get other things done. The view on why breastfeeding was best changed from being considered a women’s duty to becoming something that was just easier and more convenient for her to do. In addition, there became more emphasis on creating a feeding plan for the infant, especially for working mothers. For example, deciding whether the baby would be fed from formula, pumped breast milk, or direct nursing and making sure to discuss with a supervisor or manager at work how a mother plans to do this while at work and what she will need to do so. Yet, since there were little to no legal regulations in place to support these plans.

The 1990s came with many revolutionary milestones and continuous pressure for working mothers. By 1990, approximately 50% of mothers who worked while they were pregnant returned to their jobs before their baby was three months of age (12). In 1994, mothers that had infants and toddlers made up the fast-growing part of the workforce. And, by 1995 almost 60% of mothers with babies under a year old were a part of the labor force. Many women were going back to work so quickly because they needed to economically provide for their families. However, even though more women were going back to work at faster rates after giving birth, there were societal pressures during this time that caused women to struggle. For example, mothers were encouraged not to give their babies bottles too early on because it could lead to nipple confusion (13). Women who returned to work before their infant was two months of age were said to have struggled more with breastfeeding. Women were suggested to not return to work until at the very least six to eight weeks after having a baby, but spending three months at home was considered best, even if it meant digging into vacation time. Furthermore, women were encouraged to begin working part-time because less time away from home meant that it was easier to breastfeed their babies. Even though there were new resources, like the electric breast pump, available to nursing mothers and more legal regulations for women, such as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, women in the US faced immense pressure to prioritze their babies and being a present mother over providing for their families outside of the home.

Even at the turn of the century, there remained no direct legal regulations in place around breastfeeding for working mothers (12). There was still a severe lack of research and information about women that needed to pump breast milk at work and what kind of benefits and regulations should come with this act in the workplace. Legislative responses to protect breastfeeding women were not equipped to provide better guidelines for employers. Because of this, working women in the early 2000s struggled to find appropriate times and private places to breastfeed in office settings and some even feared that, “milk might start spewing from their breasts at work or during an important meeting” (12). Based on this information, it’s evident that women in the US labor force did not have enough internal or external support to provide them with basic necessities like a designated place to pump their breastmilk and paid break time throughout their day to do so. This meant that working mothers in America had to suffer through the uncomfortability of either pumping in public or risking lactating at random times out of their control. 

In 2010, less than 30% of companies had a designated space in their buildings for women to breastfeed or pump and less than 5% had any form of lactation support services available to their female employees (9). Furthermore, in that same year, a survey conducted by HealthStyles of US adults concluded that 32% of participants believed that it was “embarassing for a mother to breastfeed in front of other” (9). Since the majority of office spaces at this time didn’t have a private space for women to lactate and a large amount of adults in the United States found it embarassing for women to breastfeed in public, working mothers with infants were left in an extremely vulnerable and uncomfortable position in an environment that should be supportive and accommodating. As of 2011, most states in the US had legislation that allowed women to breastfeed anywhere without fear of being charged with indeceny laws but only half of these states pressed for companies to provide resources and accommodations for breastfeeding mothers in the laborforce.  This is progress for working mothers in America when compared with previous years throughout history. Yet, it shows that at this time there was still a need for additional protection and resources around breastfeeding.

Looking at more present day, in December 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act which includes the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act was signed by President Biden (3). The PUMP Act finally gives working mothers and employees the right have reasonable break times to pump their breastmilk and requires employers to provide a private space (that is not a bathroom) to do so. This is a major step in the right direction into making the transition for working mothers with infants back to the laborforce much easier and less stressful. Katy Kozhimannil, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health states, “The PUMP Act really makes it clear that the responsibility lies with the employer, not the employee” (7).  Like Kozhimannil mentioned, this act will take a lot of the burden off of postpartum mothers who are already facing enough stress and lack of sleep. Having a law clearly laid out and in the hands of the employer will allow mothers to come back to work knowing that there is a safe and private space for them to pump breastmilk and ultimately provide for their families financially, while also giving their child the nutrients it needs. Though this is a step in the right direction, only time will tell how this will truly affect the lives of breastfeeding mothers in the laborforce.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, there have been many innovations and resources created throughout US history to allow mothers to balance their careers while simultaneously breastfeeding. With history, there became a shift in the overall societal view and expectations around being a working mother with young children, leading to more pressures for women. But, despite this increase in resources and legal protection, like the Fair Labors Act and the recent PUMP Act, there still remains many challenges for working mothers. It is important for us, as scholars of history, to ensure we communicate and advocate for working mothers so that history does not repeat itself. We must continuously listen to the wants and needs of all employees and maintain inclusive and accommodating environments in the workplace for mothers so that they are able to achieve their professional goals while also being present and taking care of their families. 

End Notes

1. Christrup, Shana M. “Breastfeeding in the American Workplace.” Journal of Gender, Social Policy, & the Law 9, no. 3 (January 1, 2001). https://paperity.org/p/156096434/breastfeeding-in-the-american-workplace. (1)

2. Delmas, Anna M. “US1605427A - Nursing Nipple.” Google Patents. Google, October 16, 1923. 

https://patents.google.com/patent/US1605427A/en.

3. “FLSA Protections to Pump at Work.” US Department of Labor. Accessed May 4, 2023. 

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pump-at-work#:~:text=The%20Fair%20Labor%20Sta 

ndards%20Act,need%20to%20express%20the%20milk.

4. Gerber. “Breast Feeding and Gerber Foods.” Better Home and Gardens 63, 1924.

5. Grams, Marilyn. Breastfeeding Success for Working Mothers. Internet Archive. Accessed May 3, 2023.

https://archive.org/details/breastfeedingsuc0000gram/page/n9/mode/2up?q=breastfeeding+for+working+mothers. 

6. Grant, Elena M. “EP0198469B1 - Portable Electric Breast Pump.” Google Patents. Google, 1988. https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0198469B1/en. 

7. Gupta, Alisha H, and Catherine Pearson. “A New Breast Pumping Law Has Gone Into Effect. Here’s What It Means.” The New York Times. May 3, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/03/well/family/pump-act-breastfeeding.html.

8. Lindberg, Laura Duberstein. “Women's Decisions about Breastfeeding and Maternal 

Employment.” Journal of Marriage and Family 58, no. ` (February 1996): 239–51. https://www.jstor.org/stable/353392.

9. Nguyen, Thu T., and Summer Sherburne Hawkins. “Current State of US Breastfeeding Laws.” Maternal and Child Nutrition 9, no. 3 (January 11, 2012). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00392.x. 

10. Price, Anne, and Nancy Dana. The Breastfeeding Guide for the Working Woman. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983. https://archive.org/details/breastfeedinggui00pric/page/6/mode/2up.

11. Rummler, Susan H. Natural Food and Care for Child and Mother, Presentation of a System Which Makes Safe and Healthful the Gratification of the Natural Appetite, Including Questions and Answers for the Aid of Mothers and Children's Nurses. Rand, McNally & Company, 1919. https://archive.org/details/naturalfoodandc00rummgoog.

12. Toossi, Mitra. “A Century of Change: the U.S. Labor Force, 1950–2050.” Monthly Labor 

Review, May 2002, 15–28. 

13. Wiessinger, Dianne, Diana West, and Teresa Pitman. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. 8th ed. New York: Ballantine Books, 2010. https://archive.org/details/womanlyartofbrea0000unse/page/n3/mode/2up.

14. Yellen, Janet L. “The History of Women's Work and Wages and How It Has Created Success For Us All.” Brookings. Brookings, May 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/essay/the-history-of-womens-work-and-wages-and-how-it-has-created-success-for-us-all/.