Adrienne Pine is an American University professor under fire for bringing her sick baby to class with her and nursing the baby while also teaching. Naturally, people are furious and up in arms over her "inappropriate" behavior. But I say: you go mom. She had little choice and she did what she had to do.
In general, we need to be more supportive of these situations as a culture.
Having a baby is a 24/7 kind of job. Even those of us who have full-time jobs outside of our families are also full-time moms. Having two such rigorous "jobs" can often conflict. Sometimes we moms have to multitask.
The irony, of course, is that it was during a Sex, Gender, and Culture class. Here is our culture right now. Moms have basically no leeway.
As a working mom, sometimes you feel damned if you do and damned if you don't. If you take a sick day (especially on the first day of school as a professor), you are seen as not dedicated to your work. If you don't take a sick day and stay home, you are a bad mom. Then add in the bit about her being a single mom? Her choices were limited.
I am not saying it's the ideal to bring a sick baby to class and let him or her crawl around and spread germs. But I am saying working moms sometimes have to do what they have to do. It's all a balancing act, and I wish we lived in a society where we could cut each other some slack.
I have no idea what the tenure process is like at AU or even if Professor Pine was on that track. But I do know that when a mom takes off work for a sick kid, people automatically grumble. She is a slacker. She doesn't take her work seriously. Childless people are forced to "pick up her slack." It's the oldest load of crap.
It's hard out there for working parent, but particularly for a single nursing mother.
What she did wasn't ideal. It wasn't even probably the best move. But it was understandable. Until sick days are respected and no one secretly (or overtly) makes bad comments about a woman's "dedication" should she use them, then I say she did what she had to do. I support her.
Do you think what Professor Pine did was wrong?
Image via Cherice/Flickr
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Comments 72
To bring a sick baby ANYWHERE is wrong but to a school?? Seriously? BF-ing aside, what if the baby picked up something else because the immune system was funky but what about making others sick??
Totally wrong. If you have a sick child, stay home from work to care for it. Don't inflict the illness on thousands of others. Are you sure this was a professor?? I know smarter 5th graders.
I get so tired of hearing people say " Oh well if it was a bottle would people be offended" OF COURSE NOT. But it is not a bottle it is her breast. Yes all natural and best for baby yada yada yada. That woman had NO BUSINESS taking her sick child to school and breastfeeding WHILE TEACHING. Would other companies allow you to bring your baby to work and breastfeed while taking food orders or sitting at your desk?
I too think she was wrong to bring her sick child to class because you really don't bring a sick infant out and expose them to other pathogens and I'm sure that classroom and the campus had any number of creepy crawlies just waiting to hitch a ride on an already stressed immune system. Add to that the fact that she had to interrupt the class to care for and feed the child and these students have a right to feel like they didn't get her full attention for the class they were PAYING to attend. I do support NIP however, I do not think anyone should be breastfeeding at their jobs or in a situation where someone who is made uncomfortable by the breastfeeding cannot look away or step away without repercussions to themselves. This woman behaved selfishly to both her child and her students.
@Mrscjones~WHAT?? I can't make any sense out of what you wrote. Her students paid to watch her breastfeed? That's sick! She paid the kids to babysit? What the heck do you mean?
Jafe - what I believe she is trying to say is that the students paid for this class, so in essence, they paid to watch her feed and take care of her child.
Okay CPN, that makes sense now. Thank you. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. Come on people, grammar!! Punctuation!! It makes all the difference.
Funny. I've always thought that the ideal society would try to encompass the parental role in the social workforce at some place. After all, people are parents even if they work. Why not try to allow a more 'work in' maternity leave wherein which new parents are allowed to bring infants to work as long as it isn't too disruptive? Especially in cases like this, where it's rare and prevents the employee from missing work needlessly?
I see that this is incorrect now, because we have really embraced a society where family and children are 'out of sigh out of mind'. Where people get freaked out at someone multi tasking, and where parent and students are all on edge about a baby being there and how big of a distraction it is because it's not "normal" or currently deemed "appropriate". And I find that unfortunate.