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My Co-Worker Stores Breast Milk In Our Office Refrigerator

June 13, 2017 by Jim 9 Comments

Dear Evil Skippy:

I just found out that one of my co-workers is storing her breast milk in our office refrigerator. This grosses me out. I think management should require her to bring in a small cooler or other contraption to store the stuff during the day, but my supervisor is a woman and is taking my co-worker’s side. I don’t want to escalate this by going to human resources, but I would also like to use the refrigerator again. What can I do?

— Queasy

Dear Queasy:

You can slap yourself for giving Lactose Intolerance a bad name.

— Evil Skippy

Grow up. Breast-feeding is a fact of life and nursing moms deserve a break from immature dolts who want to pretend breast-feeding does not exist. Whatever your hang up is about this – get over it. Either that or start bringing lunches to work that do not need to be kept cold.

Personally, I would rather have twenty co-workers store some breast milk in the office refrigerator than just one person store leftover Tuna Surprise. Readers – what do you think about what’s stored in the refrigerator at work?

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: breast milk, complaints, Dear Evil Skippy, [email protected] Classics, etiquette, office refrigerator

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Comments

  1. Rebecca Ward says

    June 13, 2017 at 9:04 AM

    Hi Jim.
    Thank you for your enlightened answer about the breastmilk. Thank goodness working moms can pump & store their milk to give their babies the best!
    Becky Ward
    Lactstion Educator

    Reply
  2. Paula says

    June 13, 2017 at 9:32 AM

    I think if it isn’t molding or reeking to high heaven I don’t care what is in the fridge. I think Queasy should mind their own damn business and get over themselves.

    Reply
  3. Melissa Crowley says

    June 13, 2017 at 9:42 AM

    Hi Jim.
    Thanks for your response to Queasy–of course they should be allowed to store it! I recommend putting initials on the bottles, though; a couple of nitwits at my office like to sample EVERYTHING.

    Melissa

    Reply
  4. Karl Christian says

    June 13, 2017 at 10:22 AM

    The best way around any worker issues is to have a designated refrigerator near the room provided for nursing mothers. We took this approach, and have received no complaints over the past five years.

    Reply
  5. Michelle says

    June 14, 2017 at 10:24 AM

    1. Why is the complainer ‘grossed out’ by breast milk in the office fridge as long as it is properly contained/sealed? It IS food, after all, and not the same as storing bodily waste in the fridge!
    2. Why the inference that the supervisor’s support of the coworker is because she’s also a woman? It’s not a matter of taking a side, the supervisor is doing the right thing.
    3. If breast milk in the fridge so offends the complainer, I hope he (and yes, I do believe it is a ‘he’) should take his own advice and put his lunch in a small cooler or put one of those frozen gelpaks in his lunch. That’s what my kids do.
    4. For pity’s sake, grow up already!

    Reply
  6. steve says

    June 26, 2017 at 9:38 AM

    Don’t care either way, but, let me ask this: do you want to feed your baby something that you have no control over while it is stored in a public place?

    Reply
    • Working Mom says

      July 25, 2017 at 11:14 AM

      In my experience (as a nursing mom who pumps at work, twice over), people don’t bother your milk if it’s in a communal fridge. This time around, we have a separate fridge in our nursing mom rooms (more for convenience for the employees, then for the space in the other fridges), but I wouldn’t hesitate to put it in the other fridge if I didn’t have one.

      I’d also bet if people know it’s breast milk, they aren’t going to touch it because it’s taboo.

      Reply
  7. Teresa says

    April 20, 2018 at 7:49 AM

    Sounds like this person may be the one who was enjoying the “Coffee Creamer” LOL

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. My Co-Worker Pumps Her Breasts In The Break Room says:
    April 20, 2018 at 6:41 AM

    […] I agree. And before you start to whine about where the new mom keeps the breast milk– please read “My Co-Worker Stores Breast Milk In Our Office Refrigerator”.  […]

    Reply

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