A metric for workplace environment culture: How long do mothers nurse?

If you think you have a positive culture at work for families, how would you measure it? One might be to determine how long, on average, the mothers of young children nurse their children. The workplace environment has a significant impact on the nursing relationship (availability of lactation rooms, flexibility in scheduling, maternity leave policies, etc).

There is a lot of literature showing that women tend to persist in nursing when they have peers who are doing the same. So, a lactation room, beyond just providing the legally required space for pumping milk, provides a networking location for your employees.

Approximately 17 months ago I began pumping milk at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the lactation room there. At that time, my daughter was about two months old and there were several other women with older babies pumping milk. Over the last 19 months, women have had babies and joined the room. I see them logging in day after day. Now something interesting is happening. People are continuing to pump milk up to the year mark and beyond. This means women are not rotating out of the room as new ones come in. Within the next week, a second lactation room will be opened in our building to prepare for two more women to come off maternity leave.

We have three women pumping milk for children over a year old right now! Knowing how rare that is in the U.S. right now I would take it as a very positive indicator of the success of our lactation program and therefore of how good our workplace environment is for mothers of young children.

It is smart for institutions to be supportive in this way. Babies who receive breastmilk get sick less often and less severely and there is thus less absenteeism. Nursing is a source of comfort that provides a very fast means of emotional reconnection between mother and child at the end of a work day. Happier employees make happier bosses, right?

So, if you’re wondering how to make your workplace environment family-friendly, invest time, energy and resources into having a great lactation room, like my institution did.

Please do not disturb: Pumping in progress

This is the sign that adorns my office doorknob every day around noon and again at 3. And this is more or less what I look like as I pump -- yes, quite the fashion statement. Thankfully my officemate is comfortable with my pumping in our office. More importantly, however, is that I have the convenient option to use the new lactation room in my building.

Northwestern University's Tech Building is no exception. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires employers to allow time for pumping as well as a reasonable space (that's not a bathroom!) to pump. Specifically, the law requires that employers “provide a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express milk.” Moreover, employers must “provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public” for nursing employees.

The importance of lactation rooms at work

Recently, we have been going through a round of milestones in the lactation room in my building at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. It is hard to believe that three first birthdays will have been reached by the end of May. These three women are myself, an associate division chief in science and an engineer. Just as a reminder, it really is the case that the World Health Organization recommends nursing to two years.

I read the register each day (we sign in so the center knows how much the room is being used). We write down our “code numbers” (what science or engineering division we are in) so I can see who is in planetary science, who is in astrophysics, who is in project management/engineering. We also have three women with young babies using the room right now too. The message board is filling up (the old style of message board that involves a marker!). I find myself rooting for the newcomers. It is also added positive peer pressure for me; if I can keep this up, it will show them they can do it too.

Remember, 100 years ago, before formula was widely used, it was the case that all babies were nursed, and generally they did this for at least a year (Baumgartner’s book Mothering Your Nursing Toddler points to historical data indicating that the natural age for weaning is after the second birthday). In those days, you would have had ample opportunity to discuss breastfeeding and would have had encouragement from people around you to make sure your child was nursed. Having that kind of support among your peers is of course important.

I know these women are facing similar workplace challenges to me. Mission schedules can be crazy. Travel periods can be intense. They keep coming back to the room to ensure their babies get the milk and so do I.

NASA GSFC management made the decision to install a lactation room in every new building a few years ago. We are up to 12 rooms at the center. These rooms exist because employers are to provide a place (other than a bathroom stall) where we can pump milk and thankfully NASA GSFC took that responsibility very seriously. This is fantastic recognition for the value of nursing babies.

I am grateful that this room is available. There is a hospital-grade pump which is much better than my pump. I have easy access to a sink to wash my hands and a refrigerator where I can store the milk. There is a microwave for sterilizing bottles (there is a nice kind of microwave bag on the market for this). You can even store pumping supplies in the room so you don’t need to remember to bring everything with you. I can use the time to check my email and have even donated an iPhone charger to the room to make sure my down time is minimized.

Our room (in the planetary science and astrophysics building) is extra comfortable since we have a champion, Anne Kinney (director of the planetary science division). She put in a nice chair and some decorations and takes visitors on a tour of the room (when not in use of course!) to encourge others to install similar rooms.

I’ve had a lot of support in my choice to nurse my daughter, and I would say that the availability of this room and the day-in-day-out examples I see in other women using it has been near the top of the list of "essential" support.

By the way, this is a good time to remind scientists to send me their stories about nursing well past a year (Ann.Hornschemeier AT nasa.gov, as soon as possible!). Next month’s post will be a synthesis/compilation of those.

Make the Breast Pump Not Suck

 Since our first encounters with the breast pump, we wondered how women had been duped into settling for such bad design. The pump is a symbol of the modern work-life conundrum. In theory, women have the freedom to honor the wisdom that “breast is best,” while still pursuing their own careers. And yet, to do so, they’re forced to attach themselves, multiple times a day, to a loud, sometimes painful machine that makes one feel anything but powerful. - Courtney Martin, Times Motherlode Blog

AASWOMEN for October 22, 2011

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 21, 2011
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, and Michele Montgomery

This week's issues:

1. A metric for workplace environment culture: How long do mothers nurse?

2. APS Meetings Child Care Grants

3. IBM Research Internship for Undergraduate Women

4. Department of Energy Scholars Program

5. Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program

6. Job Opportunities

7. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

9. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

AASWOMEN Newsletter 08/28/09

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of August 28, 2009
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson & Michele Montgomery

This week's issues:

1. Dr. Helen Walker Recognized

2. "She Is An Astronomer" 2010 Calendar

3. Poster Solicitation for Women in Astronomy and Space Science Conference

4. Sky Ranger Workshop at Bryce Canyon National Park

*** FOLLOWING JOB POSTING TAKEN FROM WIPHYS ***

5. PostDoctoral Fellowships, Michigan Society of Fellows

6. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

7. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN

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1. Dr. Helen Walker Recognized
From: Pat Knezek [pknezek_at_noao.edu]

An astronomer from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is leading a world-wide push to encourage organizations to do more to support and encourage female astronomers.

Earlier this month, in her role as Chair of the group 'She is An Astronomer', Dr. Helen Walker, from STFCs Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), successfully presented a new resolution to the world renowned International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly in Brazil.

The new resolution states that IAU members should encourage and support the female astronomers in their communities and that national representatives should encourage national organizations to break down barriers and ensure that men and women are given equal opportunities to pursue a successful career in astronomy at all levels and career steps.

Even though astronomy continues to attract women, there is wide geographical diversity, with some countries having none and other countries having more than 50% female professional astronomers. These numbers drop towards more senior levels, suggesting that scientific careers are heavily affected by social and cultural factors, and are not determined solely by ability.

Dr. Helen Walker said, "The resolution is a great result which will help to ensure that organizations world-wide do more to support the careers of female astronomers. Ensuring that women have the same opportunities as men is not only beneficial to the increasing numbers of talented female scientists but also to the advancement of science which relies on continued interest by talented people, dedicated to pushing its boundaries. It?s great that STFC, which funds the majority of Astronomy here in the UK, is supporting the work of the 'She is an Astronomer' group."

She is an Astronomer is one of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009) Cornerstone projects. The overall aim of the project is to provide information to female professional and amateur astronomers, students and those interested in the gender equality problem in science. An objective of the project is to build and maintain an easy-to-handle forum and database, where people can get information about the subject, ask questions and find answers. The website

http://www.sheisanastronomer.org/

is the main tool to address the aims and objectives of this IYA2009 Cornerstone.

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2. 'She Is An Astronomer' 2010 Calendar
From: Andrea Schweitzer [schweitz_at_frii.com>]

The 'She Is An Astronomer' cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy has produced a colorful calendar for 2010 featuring accomplished women astronomers from around the world. "With this calendar we aim to help reconstruct the history of women in astronomy, which, as in other fields of knowledge, is poorly known. We have highlighted exceptional women whose contributions to the advancement of science deserve to transcend anonymity and occupy a place in history. We have tried to give visibility and to value the contributions of women astronomers from different epochs and countries." The illustrated calendar can be downloaded from:

http://www.sheisanastronomer.org/index.php/downloads/calendar

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3. Poster Solicitation for Women in Astronomy and Space Science Conference
From: Women in Astronomy 2009

The Women in Astronomy and Space Science Conference on Meeting the Challenges of an Increasing Diverse Workforce is to be held October 21-23, 2009 at The Inn and Conference Center in College Park, Maryland. Poster submissions are invited on all topics related to the general theme of the conference including

For Institutional Success: - Best practices for an effective mentoring program - What it takes to recruit a diverse pool of excellent applicants - Avoiding unconscious bias for research committees, promotion review, recommendation letters, etc. - How to set up family friendly facilities and policies, i.e., for lactation, childcare, long term care, etc.

For Individual Success; - Best practices for writing a winning proposal and giving an effective science talk - Things to accomplish during your postdoc that will help you land your first real job - Navigating the challenges of various workplace environments, particularly when you are a member of a non-dominant group - Managing your first graduate student and postdoc: What should your goals be?

To register your poster or to find more information on the meeting, please see

http://wia2009.gsfc.nasa.gov/contributed_posters/ .

Note that travel grants through AAS are also available and information can be found at the above listed website.

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4. Sky Ranger Workshop at Bryce Canyon National Park
From: Michele M. Montgomery

Sky Rangers workshops, which are part of the Astronomy from the Ground Up program, are designed for educators and interpreters from parks, nature centers, and other informal outdoor and environmental educational facilities. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific will offer two types of Sky Rangers workshops:

- Four-day workshop (October 13-16, 2009) at Bryce Canyon National Park This workshop covers hands-on astronomy activities for outdoor settings, sky navigation, and telescope operation. A stunning dark sky location, Bryce Canyon NP is a leader in astronomy in the parks. There is no workshop or materials fee, and participants will be allotted a $500 stipend toward transportation, food, and lodging for all non-NPS employees.

- Six-week online workshop This workshop covers hands-on astronomy activities for outdoor settings and sky navigation. Participants will become comfortable locating and interpreting objects in the night sky and will create a personal interpretive sky tour. There is no workshop or materials fee.

Both workshops are intended for beginners in astronomy, but will also appeal to those with more experience. Participants of all Sky Rangers workshops will receive a free toolkit of materials for outdoor astronomy activities, participate in short online follow-up sessions that cover seasonal skies, and become members of the Astronomy from the Ground Up online community of over 450 informal astronomy educators around the U.S.

Sky Ranger workshops and materials are developed and delivered by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS), the National Association for Interpretation (NAI), and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), thanks to generous funding from NASA.

Additional eligibility and application information can be found at

http://www.astrosociety.org/afgu/skyrangers/ .

All materials must be submitted by August 30, 2009.

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5. PostDoctoral Fellowships, Michigan Society of Fellows
From: WIPHYS, August 25

Post Doctoral Fellowships in the Humanities, Arts, Sciences, and Professions 2010-2013

The Michigan Society of Fellows was founded in 1970 through grants from the Ford Foundation and Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies for the purpose of promoting academic and creative excellence in the humanities, the arts, the social, physical, and life sciences, and in the professions. In 2007, the Mellon Foundation awarded a grant to add four Mellon Fellows annually in the humanities, expanding the number of fellowships awarded each year from four to eight. The objective of the Society is to provide financial and intellectual support for individuals selected for outstanding achievement, professional promise, and interdisciplinary interests. We invite applications from qualified candidates for three-year postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Michigan.

Candidates should be near the beginning of their professional careers. Those selected for fellowships must have received the Ph.D. degree or comparable artistic or professional degree between June 1, 2007, and September 1, 2010. Fellows are appointed as Assistant Professors or Research Scientists in appropriate departments and as Postdoctoral Scholars in the Michigan Society of Fellows. They are expected to be in residence in Ann Arbor during the academic years of the fellowship, to teach for the equivalent of one academic year, to participate in the informal intellectual life of the Society, and to devote time to their independent research or artistic projects. Applications from degree candidates and recipients of the Ph.D. from the University of Michigan will not be considered.

Applications will be reviewed by Society members and University faculty. Final selections will be made in late January by Senior Fellows of the Society. Eight Fellows will be selected for three-year terms to begin September 1, 2010. The annual stipend will be $51,500.

The online application is available at:

http://www.rackham.umich.edu/sof

email: society.of.fellows_at_umich.edu

Application Deadline: September 30, 2009.

MICHIGAN SOCIETY OF FELLOWS Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1070 An Equal Opportunity Program

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6. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

[Please remember to replace "" in the below e-mail addresses.]

To submit to AASWOMEN: send email to aaswomenaas.org All material sent to that address will be posted unless you tell us otherwise (including your email address).

To subscribe or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN go to

http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswlist

and fill out the form.

If you experience any problems, please email itdept_at_aas.org

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7. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN

Past issues of AASWOMEN are available at

http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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Pumping at 23, The extended mission through the Milky Way

I couldn’t resist choosing the blog title “pumping at 23”. Since this is a blog about maintaining an astrophysics career and nursing a child, one might logically think it refers to a 23-year-old mother pumping milk. In my case, since it will be ten years next month since I defended my PhD thesis, I must admit the 23 refers to my daughter’s age in months. Since I work at NASA, I can’t help but refer to the pending 24 month transition as the extended mission; soon I will have met my personal goals for the prime mission!

A prospective postdoc stopped by on Friday to chat and the first half of the conversation ended up being about pumping milk when traveling. Here is an anonymous thank you for the inspiration for a pumping-and-astrophysics blog.
So, first let’s have a reminder. Breastmilk is wonderful for babies and toddlers, and the connection between the nursing mom and her child is also beneficial to employers. Breastfed babies have fewer ear infections and illnesses, and illness tends to be less severe. More difficult to quantify is the wonderful re-connection that a working astrophysicist feels with her child after a long day at work. I like to think of it as concentrated mothering. Now, not everyone wants to breastfeed, and sometimes it honestly doesn’t work out (but please see previous blogs, I have never said this was the easy path!). If a mother wants to continue to give her baby breast milk, it is a good idea to support that.

And then we come to the “dreaded pump.” Although I personally have had an overall positive pumping experience, many astrophysicist-mothers I have spoken with talk about the pumping in a rather negative way. Practically speaking, pumping serves two purposes: (1) maintaining your milk supply when you spend time away from the child and (2) preventing discomfort and more serious problems that may arise when failing to empty a full breast. If you aren’t going to be around the kid and you want your milk supply to be maintained, you have to pump. Travel is when this becomes essential. For a fun illustration of what this looks like in practice, here is a short list of some places/situations where I have pumped:
• the lactation room at NASA GSFC (shared hospital-grade pump, AWESOME)
• the restroom on an 11-hour international flight en route to an X-ray binaries/supermassive black hole conference (battery pack is the only option!)
• the restroom on a long-delayed Amtrak train back from Boston from the summer AAS meeting (ewww! Battery pack and wipes needed, bathroom was disgusting!)
• the office of the public policy fellow at the American Astronomical Society headquarters (electricity and access to a refrigerator, yes!)
• the Potbelly Sandwich shop near the White House Office of Management and Budget (electric plug and sink in the same room)
• my office (convenient but people still open the door)

At some point though, all mothers face a moment when it is time to stop pumping. Your child is old enough (and that is a decision for each mother to make based on her situation, although I will mention here that the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until two years of age, the American Pediatric Association recommends breastfeeding until at least a year of age). So for many people, somewhere around a year or later (for me it was about 16-17 months), the daily pumping routine will no longer seem necessary. At this point, I haven’t pumped since early January when I attended the AAS meeting in Austin. I will also say that, at 23 months, I am very grateful that I did all that pumping.

While at home, I nurse my daughter approximately 3 times every work day, once in the morning, once before bed, and once in the middle of the night. She now asks and politely says “all done”. And at 23 months, I will say that I treasure this wonderful connection with my daughter as much as ever. I just started a demanding new position at NASA and I frankly think that these cuddling/nursing sessions with my daughter are one part of what is helping me deal with all the pressures of motherhood and career right now.

I’m also glad to have made it through the peak of the snarky comments period. According to Baumgartner’s “Mothering Your Nursing Toddler” the peak period for rude comments (which prompted some of this blog) is from 12-24 months. The young woman who visited me certainly had some snarky comments to share.

So, this is just a reminder that those who pump milk and do astrophysics are not alone.

AASWOMEN Newsletter for August 01, 2014

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of August 01, 2014
eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Meredith Hughes, & Elysse Voyer

This week's issues:

1. Please do not disturb: Pumping in progress

2. Working Toward the Ideal Astronomy Department

3. Career Profiles: Astronomer to Image Processor for STScI

4. Want to Be a PI? What Are the Odds?

5. Unheard Voices: Multicultural Astronomy and Women In Astronomy

6. In Silicon Valley, women still a rarity in the top ranks

7. The First Female Astronomer

8. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

10. Access to Past Issues

AASWomen Newsletter for February 26, 2021

From Item #3

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of February 26, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Alessandra Aloisi, and Jeremy Bailin

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. Be well! --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. That’s who I am, that’s who I be, but that’s not everything

2. We’ve been cooped up with our families for almost a year. This is the result.

3. Building a Diverse Workplace: Top 10 Communities for Women in Tech

4. Elsevier Promotes Transparency By Publishing Editors’ Genders

5. Science diversified: The men who say no to manels

6. Supporting women in academia during and after a global pandemic

7. Unequal parenthood impacts may explain academia's publication gender gap

8. NASA Planetary Science Summer School 2021

9. Job Opportunities

10. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

11. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

12. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

AASWomen Newsletter for November 22, 2019

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of November 22, 2019
eds: JoEllen McBride, Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, and Alessandra Aloisi

Henrietta Leavitt, from item 3

This week's issues:

1. Kick-off Post for Two-Body Problem Series

2. New Video Interview Series from the Europlanet Early Career and Diversity Committees

3. How Henrietta Swan Leavitt Helped Build a Yardstick to Measure the Universe

4. The Scientist Who First Showed Us The Double Helix: A Personal Look At Rosalind Franklin

5. Supporting Parents and Caregivers in Science, Engineering, and Medicine

6. The Long Road to Getting, and Keeping, More Women in Science

7. Navigating the 'Old Boys' Club' of Science, With a Friend

8. Why I'm not applying for promotion

9. Want more women and minorities in STEM? Address social oppression in the classroom, says new research

10. 5 Ways to Welcome Women to Computer Science

11. The mental health of PhD researchers demands urgent attention

12. Are you guilty of equity offset?

13. Job Opportunities

14. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

15. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

16. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

Career Profile: Associate Teaching Professor

The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy is compiling interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers. The interviews share advice and lessons learned from individuals on those paths.

Dr. Julia Kregenow is an Associate Teaching Professor at Penn State University. She worked in science policy before moving to teaching. She has also published three children's books about astronomy.

What field do you currently work in?

Astronomy and Astrophysics

What is the job title for your current position?

Associate teaching professor

AAS Women Newsletter for April 12, 2019

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of April 12, 2019
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride

This week's issues:

From item 2: Katie Bouman

1. Highlights from Women In Space 2019
2. Multiple stories about Katie Bouman and the first black hole image
3. Meet Maria Mitchell the First American to Discover a Comet
4. Women in Physics and Astronomy, 2019
5. Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
6. Dem senators introduce bill to combat sexual harassment in STEM
7. BethAnn McLaughlin: ‘Too many women in science have to run the gauntlet of abuse and leave’
8. Stepping up to be a role model for LGBTQ inclusion in science
9. It's So Damn Hard to Be a Mom in STEM and This New Attrition Stat Proves It
10. Paid Family Leave for Postdocs
11. Women in Engineering: A Review of the 2018 Literature
12. 10 Unusual Tips For How To Advance Women In STEM, National Academy Of Sciences
13. Barring Women From Economics
14. Multiple Factors Converge to Influence Women's Persistence in Computing: A Qualitative Analysis
15. Job opportunities
16. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
17. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
18. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter