AAB 020 Breastpumping - Jessica Shortall Work. Pump. Repeat

Jessica is from New Jersey. She always had an interest in womens issue and social justice issues. She was a Peace Corp volunteer, helped start up and franchise a non-profit organization, has her MBA, led her to Tom’s Shoes and built and ran the One for One program. She was the first woman to have a baby in the job. Her kids are now 5 and 2 years old now. There was so much to know about being a breastfeeding mom and pumping and returning to work and coordinating it all. She likes solving problems and the information she desperately needed, she just could not find. So, she decided to be the one to write the book she could not find. My first big trip once I returned to work was taking a trip to Nepal, without my son. I learned a lot of practical tips along the way. Like what to do when you are in a hotel room and they tell you they don’t have another refrigerator. Well, you lie! Tell them it is a medical need because when you ask nicely it is easy for them to turn you down. So you lie a little. And a medical need is respected and all of a sudden you will get a refrigerator. Jessica felt a lot of pressure that was put on her by others to exclusively breastfeed her baby, and also the pressures she put on herself. She became quite manic and this greatly affected her maternity leave. She sought help and was prescribed a pill which caused her a really bad reaction. She describes her maternity leave as a really horrible time for her as her anxiety and panic attacks escalated. Jessica reached out to a lactation consultant and told her she was having major problems, high anxiety and unfortunately this lactation consultant did not do her justice at all. She made her feel bad by saying that she needed to keep breastfeeding to get her son past the flu months. Jessica continued to do so, but surely put her mental health at a major risk. Jessica talks about what she did during her next pregnancy to prepare for her next pp experience. She basically told her husband and a few friends that they were in charge of her mental health because she felt she could not think clearly and objectively during that time period. Very smart on her part. Jessica gives some great tips on how to approach your boss or manager or HR person regarding your need to pump.