Breastfeeding mom on jury duty forced to pump in bathroom

FALL RIVER, Mass. – A Massachusetts woman who recently gave birth and was called to serve jury duty was disappointed to find that the only place she could pump breast milk was the courthouse bathroom, reports  CBS Boston.

“Leading up to it, I got nervous,” Colleen Swanson told the station of her impending jury duty. “I was not sure where I would pump.”

Like many women, Swanson, the new mom of a five-month-old, uses a breast pump to collect milk for her son when the two are separated, reports the station. 

When she headed to Fall River Trial Court on Tuesday for jury duty, she asked a court officer where she could go to pump, and was directed to the restroom. Swanson, of Raynham, Mass., didn’t love the idea.

“I don’t need any luxury room or anything,” she said, “but maybe something other than, you know, near a toilet.”

Ultimately, Swanson used one of the public stalls, though with great difficulty since there was no table or anything to balance her equipment, CBS Boston said.

“I was standing [in the stall] and I hooked my bag [with the pump] … on the back of the door and there’s lots of parts,” she said. “And I actually happened to drop a bottle — empty, but I dropped a bottle. And that was definitely going in the trash, never going to be used.”

Swanson had hoped the courthouse would have a small room that could be used by lactating women.

“So now the question is, do I give my child that milk?” she told the station. “I think most moms would pump and dump and that’s a shame because it’s hard work to get all that milk.”

CBS Boston called court officials in Fall River to see what they thought about the idea of setting aside a room in their building for nursing mothers but didn’t hear back.