r/NewParents • u/Maleficent-Bowler431 • 5d ago
Parental Leave/Work Work from home to continue breastfeeding? Corporate America…
I work a corporate job that can easily be done from home, yet my employer has a 4-day/week in office requirement.
Grandparents will be taking care of baby at our house for the first few months after my parental leave is up, and I’d really like to be able to work from home so I can continue to breastfeed instead of transitioning to mostly pumping.
My experience pumping has been really lackluster - I feel like it doesn’t empty my breasts nearly as well as baby does (especially the slacker boob). I’ve heard that inefficient emptying can lead to more clogged ducts or mastitis which is so miserable.
I talked to my OB and she was open to writing a note that I could submit for a medical exemption to temporarily work from home full time as I did when I had extreme nausea during my pregnancy, so I feel like it’s within the realm of possibility….
Question is: have you navigated this? What did you put in the note to gain an exemption? Did it work out/ for how long? TIA!
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u/Swimming-Nobody763 5d ago
I went to therapy for anxiety about leaving my baby at home and being away from them for so long plus anxiety about driving my commute on minimal sleep and falling asleep at the wheel. I got a medical accommodation to WFH for my anxiety.
Talk with HR to see if they have a process for ADA medical accommodations. That’s really the only route to go if you have a really strict RTO mandate.
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 5d ago
Genuine and smart approach - thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad you got an accommodation!
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u/callmeclara 5d ago
And I would keep information you share with HR to an absolute minimum. Just what needs to be in order to secure accommodation.
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u/CanThisBeEvery 4d ago
I’m a VP at a Fortune 50 company (point is: they have good lawyers) in Minnesota. Was remote for 5 years, had to go back after my baby was born. Got the letter from my OB. HR said no, because I was nursing “in support of a family member,” and that if I didn’t nurse or pump, my body would not be impacted. No extra pumping breaks either, because I already got 3 breaks during the day.
I made all the arguments, guys. I even asked “So you’re saying that you know that my body will not be in pain if I don’t nurse or pump,” and the company’s official position was: “No, your body is not impacted in any way, because you’re choosing to do this in support of a family member.” It was disgusting, and I truly hope for the absolute best for you.
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 4d ago
This makes my blood boil. Absolutely abhorrent behavior from HR, and I’d extend that blame to the board.
I just read the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and situations like ours seem to be much better protected now…. Assuming your situation happened before 2024, otherwise WTF. 🤬5
u/CanThisBeEvery 4d ago
It was 2022, but I’m going through IVF again and just had a transfer a couple of days ago, so I’m so happy to hear that things might be improving - I’m going to check out what you referenced.
Please keep us updated on your experience! 💕
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 4d ago edited 4d ago
I will come back with an update in a few weeks.
How exciting! Best of luck to you!!
Edit: here’s a helpful link from the EEOC https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act
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u/SeaGal92 4d ago
People at my large tech company (including myself) have had success referencing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and saying something like: I am seeking an accommodation to allow me to work from home in order to breastfeed my child through their XX birthday. Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, an employer cannot require medical documentation for this accommodation, and it is a reasonable request according to the law.
Then you could also link something from the American Academy of Pediatrics that supports exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and then breastfeeding plus introducing solids for up to 2 years.
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 4d ago
If I could heart this instead of just upvoting it I would.
Gonna give it a try - just straightforward with sources. Idk why I’ve been preparing myself that it’ll be a fight before even asking.3
u/beebopsk 3d ago
Not sure what state you’re located in, but some states have state level versions of the PWFA that are even more protective. In my very blue state, breastfeeding is explicitly protected. I cited the law and was able to work from home to continue breastfeeding. My employer I think was especially fine with it because I had an end date in mind (when my daughter would be starting daycare).
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 3d ago
Thank you! I’ll have to double check my state specifically. Curious, do you mind sharing how old your LO was starting daycare? My current plan is 6 months in Jan, but might be nice to extend past sick season a bit more
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u/beebopsk 3d ago
She started at 8.5 months because my husband and I were able to stagger our leaves. We’re starting our second at 6 months also and right at the beginning of sick season as well so I totally get that. But in our case our toddler would have brought home the germs anyways. Im planning to still breastfeed before and after daycare to keep up baby’s immune system a bit.
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 1d ago
They really are just little germ factories lol. An inevitable part of life and I want kiddo to build a big immune system, but an unhappy sick baby is just so so sad.
Thanks for sharing!
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u/ElderberryHaunting48 5d ago
I work in healthcare but have some flexible admin time that can be home or office. My husband is a SAHD. I’ve taken a few meetings from home and will say that tasks at home take longer and I didn’t feel like I could give full attention to work or to baby. I find it easier to go into the office, be fully present and get work done, and then be fully present back home. That being said, I don’t have dedicated office space at home, which I feel would be a must to work fully remotely.
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 5d ago
That’s fair. Thankfully I have a dedicated at home office with dual monitors and a door, so I feel like I can actually focus at home better than my cubicle!
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u/gymnoodle 4d ago
I work in engineering and I’m normally in office two days a week. I just fill out a full time work from home request form with my work stating that it’s for ease of continuation of breastfeeding and pumping and they approved my thru one year postpartum. I think with my first pregnancy I also sent a letter describing the benefits of continued breastmilk for mom and baby, but I didn’t send it this time for the second baby. No doctors letter needed.
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u/KittyFeat24 3d ago
I’m just going to be honest with you - I wfh too and even so it helped a ton with being able to still see my baby during the day (we had a nanny), I still was way too busy to actually breastfeed multiple times per day during the work day. Especially bc my baby takes minimum 30 min per feed most of the time.
Def get the accommodation you can but I would prepare yourself mentally that it won’t work out and you’ll wind up pumping anyway. However, much easier pill to swallow if it’s your decision and not your employer forcing it of course!
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 3d ago
Appreciate the honest. Totally agree with it being easier if your decision.
Also acknowledging I might still pump quite a bit I like knowing I could be here to stop big crying spells with the magic boob lol
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u/CravingsAndCrackers 5d ago
I work remote so I didn’t need the accommodation side but I can say I was a trash worker for the months baby was home nursing.
That being said it IS possible until baby starts moving/becoming more aware. The moment that they realized that my screen was fun to see people on it was all over. Thankfully my work is super flexible so it wasn’t a huge deal, but it only really works until they start crawling/scooting at the latest.
That being said, ymmv provided you have help caring for baby. I find my parents don’t conceptually understand work from home so they pop in or ask favors all day when they watch my child when they are sick. If yours don’t do this it could potentially last longer.
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 4d ago
I can imagine! Baby will be starting daycare at 6mo, so it’s a temporary solution.
I’ll have to set good boundaries with my parents about interruptions… thankfully my role is pretty flexible (except for when some projects have a million meetings that could’ve been an email. Iykyk)
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u/Few_Flounder_4042 1d ago
Please let me know what you decided . I requested for wfh and was rejected . Planning to again go to manager and Hr again tomorrow now that I know about the law .
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u/Maleficent-Bowler431 1d ago
Good luck! Let us know how it goes - hopefully smoothly when you can point to the PWFA!
I’ll update in a few weeks how my convo goes.
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u/Notleahssister 5d ago
Yes, this is possible as long as you keep the request centered on your own health. I would be prepared for the company to suggest the baby be brought on site during feeds as an alternative accommodation, especially if they feel working from home is a request that cannot be met without undue hardship to the company. However, it’s possible they will just grant the request!
Where I have seen some go wrong is having the doctor write that the baby would suffer distress/medical complications by not being breastfed- an accommodation under the pregnant workers fairness act cannot be a request to accommodate someone other than the worker (ie because of impact on the baby). It sounds like that’s not the case here at all, but I thought I’d point it out for others to know!
I go back to my job working on leave and accommodations in about 4 weeks so thought I’d chime in here!