The Challenges of Taking Breastfeeding Infants to Academic Nursing Conferences.

Nursing faculty are predominantly women, and many are of childbearing age. Academic responsibilities for nursing faculty include attendance at scientific meetings and conferences. When nursing faculty members are breastfeeding, situations arise that may require them to make difficult decisions to meet both demands as mothers and academics. The purpose of this article is to describe the experiences of three nursing faculty members who brought their breastfed infants to professional nursing conferences, as well as identify major barriers to an inclusive working environment that cultivates "work-life balance" and propose workable solutions for breastfeeding mothers in academe.