Photo credit: Instyle
Glamour, beauty, extravagant, style. These are words usually associated with Hollywood’s biggest night, the Oscars. This is why many of us moms are so surprised to learn this week that Oscar nominee Tom Hardy’s wife was only able to use a public restroom as a place to use her pump this weekend at the Oscars.
Hardy attended the Oscars with his wife, actress Charlotte Riley, but had to spend a lot time pacing around the lobby, according to the LA Times. “I’m waiting for my wife to finish breast pumping in the bathroom,” Hardy informed them. “She has to do it every hour.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences does make facilities available, upon request, to breastfeeding mothers on Oscar night, but it appear Hardy and his wife might not have been aware of this. The Dolby Theatre's main lobby contains a multi-purpose nurses' station with a refrigerator for storing milk and a separation barrier, which the Academy claims it has been providing access to nursing moms for years. There are also nearby private restrooms. Even though this was not disclosed to guests in advance, any nursing women who asked, celebrities or not were given passes that let them access the area to express breast milk.
Pumping in a bathroom stall is hardly glamorous, beautiful, or extravagant. Many businesses, including theaters, concert venues, and stadium locations, offer suitable locations for pumping milk when moms are away from home.
Still, accessibility is more than just having a space to breast pump or breastfeed. A nursing mom's body and chemistry require her tp pump ondemand, not just when it's convenient for others. Simply needing to locate a knowledgeable employee to assist could be a turnoff in and of itself. Furthermore, coming across a general-purpose nurses' station may raise further concerns about cleanliness, particularly on whether the setting is suitable for growing food for a baby's developing immune system.
Let’s hope Hollywood get on board with this and plan better for all future award events. Until then, use Moms Pump Here’s website on your smartphones to find a suitable place to pump, because no one should prepare meals in a ladies’ room.
