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A high school teacher is going viral after revealing that she pumps breast milk while teaching.
Kayla Kipley, a special education teacher in Tucson, Arizona, took to TikTok on Oct. 27 to share why (and how) she uses a wearable breast pump while teaching — and how her students feel about her decision.
At the beginning of the video, she confirmed that this was “her choice” after weighing her other options.
Her initial option was to have another teacher cover her class for 30 minutes while she was pumping, but she didn’t like the idea of being away from her class — which she said would cause her “more anxiety.”
Instead, she came across a wearable breast pump that allowed her to multitask.
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Kipley went on to say that she wears the eufy breast pump — which aren’t totally silent, but not overly distracting — for 30 minutes while teaching her second and fourth period classes.
“My students are so used to it at this point that it’s not even a thing,” she claimed in the video.
To minimize the distraction and make her pumping more discreet, Kipley wears a nursing cover over the wearables — and she uses one of her side rooms to change before her students arrive.
Kipley admitted to being nervous about pumping in front of freshman, but those nerves didn’t last long.
“They have been fantastic and wonderful,” she said in the video. “Again, it’s just not even a thing. They know that I have to do it for my baby and it doesn’t affect my class whatsoever.”
She also praised her fellow colleagues and the school she works at for being so understanding.
“I’m really lucky to work where I do, with the students I work with and have such supportive administration during this journey,” she added. “And I’m going to be doing this until April.”
Kipley’s wearable breast pump creates heated debate online
In an interview with TODAY.com, Kipley confirmed that she received clearance from her principal prior to introducing her pumping plan to the classroom.
She also confirmed that, while they do make some noise, “you wouldn’t be able to hear it if you were standing six feet away from me.”
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Still, many TikTok users were quick to share their opinions online.
- “As a student that would make me uncomfortable just my opinion I just think that’s kinda weird”
- “This is absolutely inappropriate”
- “As a parent, nope.”
- “ok. This is not sexual, but its not appropriate for a classroom enviroment. That is final.”
- “no i’m sorry this would make me so uncomfy. pumping in public is fine, but i just feel like school is a different environment.”
- “I understand it’s natural, but for a students sake… don’t tell anyone that you are if it’s not noticeable? It’s quite the uncomfortable topic.”
Others were quick to defend Kipley for doing what she needed to do for her child.
- “Yall she literally said she’s wearing a HUGE PONCHO over it…. It’s not like she is exposed or anyone can even see anything.”
- “As a student I genuinely wouldn't care if a teacher was pumping mid class”
- “Um how do y'all think NOT pumping would make her body feel? being engorged can literally make her sick. Breastfeeding is NOT sexual or weird.”
- “I think that we all need to start normalizing things like this, as long as she isn’t being displayed to the kids it’s fine”
While talking to TODAY.com, Kipley reacted to the many negative comments she received online.
"It’s so hard. So why are we making things harder for women?" she said. "Why are we being so negative about this and sexualizing breastfeeding? That’s my biggest pet peeve, because it’s not sexual at all."
She hopes sharing her story can help normalize breast pumping for others.
"Times have changed, and technology has gotten so much better with these pumps and how quiet they are and how well they work," Kipley told the outlet.
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"I want to teach that everyone is so different, and to accept every stage in every person's life,” she added.
