Why I believe COVID-19 will help normalize breastfeeding in the workplace
By: Tiffany Hsia
Tags: Breastfeeding, Covid-19, Work From Home, Working Moms, Baby

Mothers will be more motivated to breastfeed

My main motivator for breastfeeding was that my amazing, loving mother did it for her three kids. Now there is new reason motivating a mother to breastfeed: it may protect baby against COVID-19. In a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), antibodies were detected in the breast milk of mothers who were previously infected by COVID-19. Furthermore, no solid evidence was found that COVID-19 could be passed through breast milk from mom to baby. While there has not been enough evidence to determine whether drinking breast milk can prevent baby from getting sick or cure an infected baby (this would require repetitive reinfection of test subjects, which isn’t humane), WHO has encouraged even COVID-infected mothers to continue breastfeeding because the benefits to baby far outweigh the risks.

Workplaces will be more conscious of hygiene

Not gonna lie–I’m a germaphobe. While still working in the office environment, I couldn’t wash my hands immediately before pumping because there was no sink by the lactation room. I tried not to think about all the germy germs my hand acquired from grabbing three doorknobs on the way to pump. I used liberal amounts of hand-sanitizer. #washyourhands has become quite trendy since the pandemic began. Although collective hand-washing doesn’t address the larger problem of why most companies do not have dedicated lactation rooms with soap and running water, it can give mothers peace of mind knowing that other coworkers are more conscientious of their hygiene now than before the pandemic.

Businesses will adopt closed-office environments

The other day, some of my dear coworkers were conversing about office floor plans over Slack. One of them compared his visit to a highly-raved “open office environment” to walking through an open sardine can. All jokes aside, more businesses will consider closed-office environments to practice social distancing. Closed-office environments afford more privacy, which will allow more breastfeeding mothers to pump in the comfort of their offices.

Conference calls let us pump and participate

Sometimes I had to miss important information during internal meetings because I had to go pump. This could have easily remedied if the host provided a meeting dial in so that I could still participate while pumping, but it didn’t seem logical to provide a virtual attendance option to invitees who were present in the office. With the pandemic, use of video conferencing platforms has risen dramatically. Even participants who are social distancing within the office find it a safer alternative to piling inside a conference room. After the pandemic, it won’t be so unwonted for a breastfeeding mother to request a Zoom link to be attached to an internal meeting invitation.

More sleep and time makes us better

For me, the worst part about breastfeeding in the workplace was needing to stay extra hours in the office to make up time lost from pumping. I spent 13 hours a day away from home and baby due to the commute and extra hours in office. Naturally, this took a toll on my physical and mental health. Although I was present in the office, I had trouble focusing due to my lack of sleep and physical activity. As an assiduous worker, my unproductive days infuriated me. When I started to work from home, the amount and quality of work I produced increased because I was able to get more sleep. With the extra time I had, I was even able to further educate myself and discover what segment of my career field that I am passionate about. Working from home has become a thing of the norm since COVID-19. Allowing breastfeeding mothers to continue to work from home post-pandemic will allow them to practice self-care, which will translate into increased productivity.