Corporate Parent: Pumping It Up

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In anticipation of a rush to the pump, several companies have already introduced more work-friendly equipment. Medela and Hollister have electric pumps that pack away in executive-looking bags. And a new company, Whisperwear, has devised the Ellen pump, which can be worn under a regular bra for the ultimate in expressing discretion.

Still, it will take a lot more education before breast-feeding at work becomes any kind of profit center. Factory workers have a particularly tough time, since it's complicated to come off the line a few times a day. And plenty of employers find the whole subject just too personal--or icky--to broach. "The large majority of employers are subject to the same misinformation that the rest of society hears--that it's a lifestyle choice, not a health choice," says Elizabeth Baldwin, legal adviser to La Leche League. "They don't want to see it, and they don't want to hear about it." The best advocates for change may well be companies like Williams, which have already listened.