An assistant anthropology professor at American University in Washington, D.C. has students crying over breast milk.
Adrienne Pine received international criticism for bringing her baby daughter to work and breastfeeding while teaching an introductory lecture to the class “Sex, Gender and Culture.”
Now the centre of a cultural debate, Pine, who is a single mother, “exposed” her experience in an online article entitled, “The Dialects of Breastfeeding: Exposéing My Breasts on the Internet.”
During part of Pine’s 75-minute lecture, her toddler crawled on the floor, causing no major disruptions, according to Pine’s account.
When the baby grew restless, Pine briefly breast-fed her in front of the 40-student class while continuing to lecture.
No students spoke out and the class was not disrupted, according to The Eagle, the campus newspaper.
One student present said that Pine “didn’t even think twice to kind of abuse her power as leader of the classroom,” according to The Eagle.
“I was shocked and annoyed that this would be considered newsworthy,” said Pine in her article.
“If I considered feeding my child to be a ‘delicate’ or sensitive act, I would not have done it in front of my students. Nor would I have spent the previous year doing it on buses, trains and airplanes; on busy sidewalks and nice restaurants; in television studios and while giving plenary lectures to large conferences.”
While AU doesn’t have a specific policy on breastfeeding, university spokesperson Camille Lepre released a statement saying nursing mothers are accommodated with reasonable break times and are provided with private areas to express milk for a nursing child.
The statement also said that AU allows employees to take leave to care for their sick children and protect the health of the community.
“We want our faculty to be the best teachers and scholars possible and, at the same time, we are sympathetic to the need for work life balance,” AU’s senior vice-provost and dean of academic affairs Phyllis Peres said in the statement.
Carleton University equity advisor Carrolyn Johnston said the university’s policies are based on the Ontario Human Rights Code.
“[The code] clearly states that employers, and institutions that provide a service (in our case education), are required to accommodate women during pregnancy or when they are breastfeeding,” Johnston said.
“Each case is assessed on an individual basis according to the specific needs of the person in question.”
Rita Khavich, a second-year journalism student at Carleton and supply teacher at an Ottawa daycare, said she understands why the professor brought her child to class, but not her decision to breastfeed.
“When you are [breastfeeding] in public, people don’t have to look at you. When you are a lecturing professor the students are supposed to be watching you,” Khavich said.
“She could have just cut the class short.”
As co-ordinator for the non-for-profit Equal Voice, a group that encourages women to go into politics, Nancy Peckford said she identifies with Pine’s story.
“I think we still live in an age where the sexual depictions of breasts are much more normal and frequent than the depiction of a woman breastfeeding her child, so I think it’s really unusual to think that women can do this on the job,” Peckford said.
Peckford, a mother of three, said she has brought all of her children to work, breastfeeding at parliamentary committees, in front of presentations with members of parliament, and regularly with her colleagues.
“Breastfeeding doesn’t compromise your brainpower, or your ability to talk in coherent sentences, or to make a contribution in those circumstances. It’s a physical act for the most part,” she said.
“I have been very happy to breastfeed and make presentations at the same time and I have been able to do both. Do I think that my professional status is taking a hit? Sometimes, maybe yeah, but am I willing to do it anyway? Yes,” Peckford said.
A University of Guelph alumnus and elementary school teacher, Kaley Recoskie, said she relates to the position of Pine’s students.
As an undergraduate student, Recoskie recalls an English professor who breastfed during her lectures including times when the child was ill.
“I was at first a little bit surprised, but it wasn’t a negative surprise. I was just surprised. ‘Oh she’s breastfeeding!’” Recoskie said.
“Now looking back I would say that I would applaud her because she is letting people see that everyday.”
“Education through example.”
