Work. Pump. Repeat.: The New Mom’s Survival Guide to Breastfeeding and Going Back to Work

by Jessica Shortall, Blackstone Audio (publisher)

This is a practical, relatable, and humorous guide to surviving the difficult, awkward, and rewarding job of being a breastfeeding, working mother.

Meet the frenemy of every working, breastfeeding the breast pump. Many women are beyond "breast is best" and on to figuring out how to make milk while returning to demanding jobs. Work. Pump. Repeat. is the first book to give women what they need to know beyond the noise of the "Mommy Wars" and judgment on breastfeeding choices. Jessica Shortall shares the nitty-gritty basics of surviving the working world as a breastfeeding mom, offering a road map for negotiating the pumping schedule with colleagues, navigating business travel, and problem-solving when forced to pump in less-than-desirable locales.

Drawing on the war stories, hacks, and humor of working moms and on her own stories from her demanding job and travel in developing countries, she gives women moral support for dealing with the stress and guilt that come with juggling working and breastfeeding. As she tells the listener in her witty, inspiring manifesto, "Your worth as a mother is not measured in ounces."

Audible Audio

Published October 10, 2017

About the author

Jessica Shortall is a thirty-something working mother of two, with a career dedicated to the intersection of business and doing good. For five years, she was the first Director of Giving for TOMS Shoes, a job that had her literally circumnavigating the globe with a breast pump.

Jessica started her adult life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan, and has worked in the non-profit, start-up, corporate, and human rights worlds in the U.S. and internationally.

Before she had children, Jessica enjoyed travel, yoga, cooking, and wine. Today, her interests include just keeping it together, and also wine.

In the news and on the web
Jessica is a featured writer and interview subject on breastfeeding, pumping at work, women's rights in the workplace, and America's ridiculously crappy approach to maternity leave. She writes regularly for The Bump and has been featured on The Huffington Post, Working Mother Magazine, BlogHer, and Every Mother Counts, with posts that are consistently viral and widely shared.