Q&A: Pumping Breast Milk on the Sabbath
Pumping Breast Milk on the Sabbath
Question
Hello, honored Rabbi,
A mother of a one-month-old baby is not at home on maternity leave, but is instead a student and studies during the week. Every day she pumps breast milk with an electric pump so that there will be milk for the baby the next day. She produces a large amount of milk, and if she does not pump for a long time she will develop painful engorgement, and the amount of milk available the next time may also decrease.
What is the law regarding pumping on the Sabbath? Seemingly one should spoil the milk so that it is a labor not done for its own productive purpose and only a rabbinic prohibition, but is it permitted to keep the milk that was pumped on the Sabbath for use on Sunday? I should note that in principle the baby can nurse, so this is not a case of saving life with respect to the Sabbath itself, but rather regarding the lack that will exist on Sunday, or because failure to pump will reduce the usual milk supply.
Thank you
Answer
I think there is no permission in such a case to pump, even if it involves only a rabbinic prohibition. However, if it causes her painful engorgement, it is permitted to violate a rabbinic prohibition (pumping to waste; preferably not with a utensil, and certainly not electrically).
If in her specific case there is a special situation in which the milk supply will decrease if she does not pump on the Sabbath, that needs to be discussed separately. You can find several overviews with a quick online search.