Coworker should’ve minded their own business.

It seems to me that it wasn’t so long ago that a breast-feeding politician was booted out of parliament in Victoria (apparently the baby wasn’t a member or something and shouldn’t have been there) and a women breast-feeding on our parliament steps was asked to cease and desist (right next to an advertisement picturing a barely dressed young woman). I believe discrimination most definitely still occurs here. :-(

As for the “ew” factor: I had an experience not long ago that may shed a little light on it… I defrosted some 10 month old breast milk the other day, to put on my toddler’s conjunctivitis (there is STILL no better cure than ONE application of breast milk, even 10 month old frozen breast milk!) and was surprised to find myself experiencing my own “ew” factor. I found myself not wanting to touch it, wanting to get the contact over with as soon as possible. This is the same reaction I get with things like my dog’s poo, and vomit, and raw meat. The whole time the logical side of me was screaming that I was being an idiot, that it was MY milk, and magical stuff at that, but to my shame I could not suppress the “ew” feeling.

This made me wonder as to the source of my feelings and I came up with two theories: a) this “ew” feeling was indoctrinated into me when I was far too young to remember it and I’ll never be rid of it, or b) there was something that felt intrinsically wrong about breast milk being outside of me rather than going straight from breast to baby that I was picking up on.

Funnily enough, I did not have the “ew” feeling when I was lactating. It only occurred when coming into contact with my breast milk in a different context (frozen, non-food use) many months later.

So I get the “ew” feeling, I really do. But that the feeling is present does not make it reasonable, and unreasonable feelings are the ones we don’t act on, we drink the great big cup of Get the Fuck Over It, get on with our lives, and allow others to do the same.

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That is not to say that breast milk shouldn’t go into the office fridge. To suggest otherwise is to ignore reality, necessity and equity. But to say that your breast milk won’t be gross to other people is also to ignore reality. Every time I see my co-worker’s pork casserole, I want to vomit. But I leave it in the fridge, recognising its right to be there.

That is such a good point. Nursing mothers should take their milk out of the fridge when all the other milk is taken out and not before.

Nursing mothers will probably want very much to take their milk out of the fridge when all the other milk is gone, because otherwise it’s going to end up in people’s coffee.

Breastmilk is not a waste product excreted from the body, it is food for babies. As food it has every right to be in the fridge along with all the other food. We keep cows milk in the fridge, which is food for baby calves and I don’t hear anyone complaining about that.

That is such a good point. Nursing mothers should take their milk out of the fridge when all the other milk is taken out and not before.

Please use some common sense and practice some common courtesy and keep your breast milk between you and your loved one.

I’m going to wilfully misinterpret this, and decide that Stan in fact means that the entire workplace structure of modern capitalism should be rearranged such that women can easily keep their babies and toddlers with them at work. No expressing required, and no one else needs to see breastmilk.

Though that would still leave women who need to express milk out in the cold. (Preemie or sick babies, babies with cleft palates, babies who can’t latch, etc.)

Good thing you were never around me and my kid, Stan. Many thousands were exposed to the hideous, stomach-churning sight of human milk. They’re all emotionally scarred, each and every one of them. Some of them were even children. Oh, the humanity.

Guess we should have both stayed locked inside for a year and a half, eh? Where we belong.