Day 16 – MIT Breast Pump Hackathon

MIT will be holding their second Breast Pump Hackathon this weekend.  As someone who has been there and done that, I am super excited.  Here is an article about why they did it.   And the related NY Times article. Why can they make cars quieter than a breast pump?  Why does it have to weigh so much and be so big?  Are all those parts really necessary?  Where are the cord extenders, both from the breast to the pump and the pump to the wall?

Pumping technology hasn’t changed much since it was invented.  It is inconvenient, can be embarrassing and make you feel like a cow.  I pumped for 8 months, exclusively for the last 5 months,  My preemie had a poor suck and preferred the bottle. (Even now I feel compelled to explain myself.  It doesn’t matter why I choose to pump.  I find most parents make the best possible decisions for their child and circumstances.)  I probably would have done it longer, but it was too hard to keep up with my very mobile child and pump at the same time.  The cords were just too short and I got tired of being so restricted.

At work, I pumped in the storage closet/tech office, which wasn’t as bad as it sounds.  There was a stool, computer to play on and I got to eat a snack in peace and quite.  They initially wanted me to do it in the bathroom that didn’t have plugins, but I was lucky and had people stand up for me and an understanding director.

I have pumped in airport bathrooms next to sinks, because that was the only place to find a plugin.  Hand pumped (very tired arms) in the car between dinner and the movies, because there was no other place. I carried a 20 lb pump, coolers and ice packs with me everywhere I went.  Needless to say I didn’t go many places besides the required ones.  Everywhere I went I planned how and when I would pump and had a back up plan. In fact, anything I did was planned around pumping.

I couldn’t sleep longer than 6 hours at a time, because I had to pump.  Every 3 or 4 hours, I had to spend 30 minutes hooked up to a machine.  These are the same problems breastfeeding moms have, but they don’t need any additional equipment beyond their baby.  Most pumpers would choose to breastfeed directly if they could.

This may be TMI, but there is a general lack of empathy and understanding in our society for breastfeeding mothers, pumping mothers, working mothers and those who are a combination. There are a lot of requirements to supporting pumping: privacy, the equipment, electrical outlets, a refrigerator, a sink, time, etc.   We aren’t trying to make life difficult, we are trying to feed our children.

Something as simple as making longer cords would have enabled me to pump longer. I am for anything to make it better and easier for future pumpers.