Nursing faculty are predominantly women, and many are of childbearing age. Academic responsibilities for nursing faculty include attendance at scientific meetings and conferences. When nursing faculty members are breastfeeding, situations arise that may require them to make difficult decisions to meet both demands as mothers and academics. The purpose of this article is to describe the experiences of three nursing faculty members who brought their breastfed infants to professional nursing conferences, as well as identify major barriers to an inclusive working environment that cultivates “work-life balance“ and propose workable solutions for breastfeeding mothers in academe.
American Association of University Professors. (2017). Visualizing change: The annual report on the economic status of the profession, 2016–17. Academe, 103(2), 4–64.
2.
HaightM., & OrtizJ. (2014). Airports in the United States: Are they really breastfeeding friendly?Breastfeeding Medicine, 9(10), 515–519. doi:10.1089/bfm.2014.0112.
KooK., & SpatzD. (2016). National survey of convention centers' lactation facilities. Journal of Human Lactation, 32(4), 735–739. doi:10.1177/0890334416653740.
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner. (2016). Joint statement by the UN special rapporteurs on the right to food, right to health, the Working Group on Discrimination against Women in law and in practice, and the Committee on the Rights of the Child in support of increased efforts to promote, support and protect breastfeeding.http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20871&LangID=E.
