Zoey - posted on 08/26/2012 ( 18 moms have responded )
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I'm due in 8 weeks and I've been doing some thinking ahead of time and doing some reaearch about the importance of milk expressing being a demand if one intends on breastfeeding. Where I work it's strictly full time only, no part time or half time. 40 hours a week, weekends off. There is only one and I repeat ONE BREAK throughout the 8 hour day and that's of course a half hour lunch. Even now at 31 weeks pregnant and working in between the air conditioned area and the heat(they have fans and the big door at the end of the plant opened for air, but the fans blow heat of course) it's been challenging.
I'm a machine operator for plastics. I'm able to ask someone to watch my machine when I go to the bathroom when possible, sometimes I have to go on my own and let my machine pile up with parts a bit. I don't care, I can't be rushing, my baby comes first. The reason we only have one break is because of our state's labor laws. If you're from PA. you'd know. But since the company I work for is greedy and cold hearted, they're too tight to even work out at least maybe a 10 min break while on the clock and 20 min clock out for lunch. Before this new labor law passed we were getting one 15 min break and one 20 min break which was lunch. That would've been helpful for me to use the first break to pump milk.
Now I have to pump milk and have to rush eating lunch before it's time to clock back in. My job already tried putting me at risk on a fast machine where I had to squat down (I don't bend) pick up parts put them on the table piece them together while checking for defects and 10 seconds the next set shoots out the machine. No one can keep up with the fast machines except me so they use me, but I did say something to them as it took a toll on me later towards the end of the day. Guess what, with me having leg cramps and one of my knees felt even worse with all that up and down, I had to call off work because I could barely walk.
They're just all about making their margin/profits/MONEY don't care about the workers. So I'm not sure if I should just put off breastfeeding because of this and stick to formula. I really wanted to be successful this time because with my first he refused to latch on to me, had to use the nipple shield because my nipple kept going inward and even when I was able to get it out, my boy still refused it and liked the silicone shield. At the time I was a stay at home mom and tried pumping with a manual one since that was all I could afford. I tried for a week, wasn't getting much milk out, got to the point I was
getting light headed and depressed, and so went to formula.
I wish I could look for a new job, but with the way the economy is, it could take 6 months to a year, especially with the only experience I have is mostly cleaning, cashier and now 2 years being a machine operator in which most places want more years but I've only been working for 10 years, I'm only 27.
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