The logistics of pumping at work are only part of the daily challenges lactating parents face when they return to work. The mental load of coordinating these logistics and navigating their employer’s lactation support — or lack thereof — can weigh heavily on parents who may already be struggling to adjust to the return to work.

That’s why lactation benefits at work aren’t just a “nice to have”— they are a lifeline for pumping parents who are more at risk for employee burnout than their non-lactating counterparts.

The following considerations weigh heavily on the minds of pumping parents and are key areas of focus for employer support.

Scheduling

To maintain milk supply, reduce discomfort, and avoid infection, pumping parents are advised to pump every 2-3 hours. That means three or four pumping sessions, at 20 minutes each, wedged in between Zoom meetings throughout the work day.

Space and privacy

Finding a clean and private space to pump for all of these sessions can be another source of stress for pumping parents, especially if their employer doesn’t provide a designated lactation room or allow cameras to be turned off during Zoom meetings.

At minimum, a lactation room should be a clean, climate-controlled, private space with a lock on the door and a comfortable chair that allows for height adjustments and an electrical outlet. When possible, it should also include a flat, wipeable surface area that can accommodate a breast pump, a laptop, and supplies. Of course, these are the bare minimum guidelines for a lactation room. Ideally, a designated pumping space would be just that—not used for meditation or private calls. It would also have storage cubbies for pumping supplies, a sink to easily wash pump parts, a refrigerator for expressed breast milk, and a mirror to help straighten up clothing.

Hygiene

It’s important to remember that milk is a parent’s body creating food for their fragile, tiny humans. Babies’ immune systems are still developing, and they are extremely vulnerable to germs and bacteria. It’s our job to protect them, and handle expressed breast milk with utmost care. Employers can support pumping parents with this effort by providing a lactation room with a sink, or if that’s not possible, designating a lactation room near the kitchen so that pumping parents can easily wash their hands and pump parts.

Proper storage

As if maintaining a pumping schedule isn’t enough, expressed breast milk has to be properly stored in a refrigerator, 40 degrees or colder according to the CDC, to avoid spoilage.

Every pumping parent either knows someone or has experienced the nightmare of pumping and storing expressed milk in a hotel mini-fridge, only to find out that they’re set well above the 40 degree F cutoff.

Transporting expressed breast milk

Even after you’ve made it through the work day and pumped successfully on schedule, you still have to transport your expressed milk home. In my case, that meant lugging over a quart of milk home from my office. Most parents rely on their own makeshift solution that includes some combination of a cooler, ice packs, and bottles or bags to transport expressed milk.

All of the time off the clock to prepare these supplies contributes to the mental load of pumping at work, but because these efforts happen behind the scenes, they are often overlooked by employers. All of the extra planning, sourcing of supplies, and troubleshooting takes time, effort, and preparation before lactating employees even step foot in the office, and is an incremental and invisible daily workload. That’s why any support employees can get to lighten their load contributes so much to employee satisfaction and retention.

Eating and hydrating

The CDC recommends that pumping parents consume an additional 330 to 400 kilocalories (kcal) per day. That means having plenty of healthy snacks on hand, and making a conscious effort to stay hydrated all day long. It may not seem like a lot to take on, but it’s just one more thing that adds to the growing mental load for pumping parents.

Appearing calm and focused

This is perhaps one of the biggest challenges for pumping parents. When pumping parents return to work, we all want to appear calm, focused, and capable. No one wants to let on how hard the transition back to work really is—women in male-dominated industries can be especially susceptible to this. Struggling with the mental load of pumping can be extremely isolating, and that’s why having employer support in place is more important than ever for employee retention.

For employers who do have a formal lactation policy in place, communicating that policy clearly can ease the stress for lactating employees by making them feel openly supported by their employer.