Being a Breastfeeding Parent Shouldn’t Mean Choosing Between a Career and Your Health

Over the summer, new mom Jessica Campbell registered for her daylong veterinary licensing exam at a Prometric testing facility. She found out that during the seven-and-a-half-hour test, she would only be given 45 minutes of break time. Normally, this time can be distributed throughout the day for lunch, restroom breaks, and studying. But as a breastfeeding mom, Jessica would have to set aside a large chunk of it to pump breast milk. Even with medical grade equipment, the process can take 30 minutes, leaving breastfeeding test takers with only 15 minutes for all of the other necessary break activities.

Take Action: Tell Prometric to Provide Accommodations Required by Law

When Jessica asked for additional time to take care of her lactation needs, she was flatly denied and was, instead, advised to just skip all or part of the introductory tutorial, consolidate her breaks, and pump only the minimal amount to avoid discomfort.

Stories like this are why the ACLU of California, the American Medical Women’s Association, and the California Medical Association just sent a letter asking Prometric, one of the largest test development and delivery networks in the country, to adopt formal policies and procedures to ensure that pregnant and breastfeeding test takers have consistent access to reasonable accommodations during their exams. Prometric holds itself out as a leader, saying its experts provide a “reliable, convenient and hassle-free experience” and guarantee a “fair test taking experience” for everyone.  

So why are these “experts” making new parents fight for the safe and reasonable accommodations they need in order to pump during exams?

California law is clear that people who are pregnant or experiencing pregnancy-related medical conditions—like lactation—are protected against discrimination and entitled to reasonable accommodations.

Moreover, public health officials agree that such delays in pumping or breastfeeding can lead to serious medical complications like engorgement, infection, and reduced milk supply.

For people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, reasonable accommodations in testing environments are critical to making sure they have an equal opportunity to take these exams to the best of their abilities. Without accommodations, they are being forced to choose between their careers and their health. Common sense and California law tell us that’s not fair.

California has taken great strides towards ensuring equal opportunity and accommodation for employees, and last year passed a law doing the same for public school students who are pregnant or breastfeeding. But organizations like Prometric that serve as gatekeepers between the educational and professional worlds also need to eliminate barriers that result in discrimination. Prometric and other organizations responsible for developing and administering professional exams must take steps to ensure their policies and practices for accommodations explicitly include pregnancy-related medical conditions.

Our public health professionals shouldn't have to sacrifice their own health to take care of ours. But that's what's happening today when the majority of doctors and nurses must take their credentialing exams at Prometric facilities--and are denied access to lactation accommodations.

 Jennifer Chou is a Reproductive Justice Attorney with the ACLU of Northern California.