Taking a closer look at the PUMP Act's impact

The passage of the PUMP Act last year not only significantly expanded workplace lactation rights, it highlighted just how inhospitable workplaces can be for breastfeeding parents. One of the significant aspects of the new workplace law was the right for employees to sue, and there’s been a surge in class action lawsuits for Pump Act non-compliance. And even when employers are trying to comply with the law and support breastfeeding employees, there’s confusion over who defines “reasonable” break time or what is a suitable lactation space. What’s more, a widespread lack of awareness for what pumping employees need can make it next to impossible for new parents to meet their breastfeeding goals.

There’s lots of uncertainty regarding lactation rights

In our most recent survey of 15,000 parents, a concerning 53% were unsure of their workplace lactation rights, and over a quarter felt unsupported at work. This uncertainty underscores the need for clearer communication and understanding of lactation accommodations in the workplace, so that employers and employees can have the critical conversations needed to create inclusive workplaces.

Even some “legal” lactation spaces aren’t suitable for pumping

While several states have stricter laws, the federal Pump Act leaves lots of room for interpretation when it comes to what a lactation space can be. As a result, we’ve heard about parents being offered noisy mechanical rooms that also double as meditation spaces, teachers pumping in supply closets, and other inventive but impractical workplace solutions (like the boss who removed a toilet from a bathroom stall and added a chair). Breastfeeding parents are pumping milk to take home to feed to their babies. What’s required are comfortable spaces with appropriately placed outlets and easy-to-clean surfaces for prepping to pump and packing up.

Confusion around time for pumping sessions abounds

Mamava’s first-party data suggests that the average pumping session lasts 23 minutes, some longer, some shorter—and that doesn’t include the time it takes to walk to a pumping space and get settled in. The Pump Act requires “reasonable break time” for parents—but who decides what this is? Amid evolving legislation, states like New Hampshire are taking proactive steps with new legislation that will guarantee nursing mothers an unpaid break of 30 minutes to pump for every three hours of work, effective July 1, 2025. This is progress—and also offers a directive for employers, who can, and should, codify such clarity in company lactation policies.

Time constraints impede breastfeeding

A legal right to pump at work, and a private space for doing it, is only part of the equation that makes breastfeeding accessible for parents. A staggering 47% of nursing mothers in our study identified a lack of time for pumping breaks as a significant barrier to sustaining breastfeeding. Inadequate pumping breaks not only compromise milk supply, but can also lead to serious medical complications. It’s imperative for employers to create official lactation policies—and educate all employees about them—so workplace processes and practices can accommodate the breaks breastfeeding parents are entitled to by law.

Care infrastructure improves breastfeeding outcomes—while bolstering the bottom line

The workforce has seen a historic influx of mothers with young children, and initiation rates for breastfeeding in the United States are at an all-time high of 83%. So employers have a critical role to play in helping breastfeeding parents meet the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation to breastfeed for two years or more. The maternal and child health benefits of breastfeeding represent billions of dollars in saved medical and care costs every year.

Read more: Most workplaces not designed to support breastfeeding parents, survey finds

Ensuring that lactation spaces are high-quality, safe, and cleaned regularly—and that policies and processes allow parents to take the “reasonable” breaks they need—are critical components of the care infrastructure that has been largely missing from our workplaces. And, given that 61% of our survey respondents said logistical challenges like packing, transporting and cleaning pump parts was a significant obstacle to breastfeeding, what we really love to see are the employers who are doing all of the above, and more to make life just a little bit easier for parents by providing on-site amenities (e.g., hospital-grade pumps and cleaning supplies) and free milk shipping. Parents notice this care and reciprocate, strengthening company culture overall.

Providing visible support for this area of care will help change workplace culture as it shows that breastfeeding is everyone’s business, because breastfeeding benefits all of us.

Sascha Mayer is the cofounder and Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of Mamava, the creator of freestanding lactation spaces for breastfeeding on the go.