Last week, expanded protections for nursing mothers, officially known as the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act, or PUMP Act, went into full effect, giving more workers the right to break time and a private space to pump.
Building on a 2010 law, which compelled employers to provide breastfeeding accommodations, the PUMP Act was introduced in Congress in 2021.
Support grew last summer amid the baby formula shortage and after the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new guidelines that support breastfeeding for two years or more.
“Part of the reason for that is that if you’re not emptying your breasts regularly, your milk supply goes down.
And if your milk supply goes down, gradually, breastfeeding ceases.”