01/17/2026
Yes!
Breastfeeding - High School Teacher Details How She Pumps Breastmilk During Class — And How Her Principal Responded
Jan. 14, 2026 BY Sofia Kasbo
For Kayla Kipley, motherhood duties entail more than what happens at home; they happen at work, too.
Kipley pumps breast milk for her baby during her full-time teaching job, and she plans to until April.
The 32-year-old is a special education teacher in Tucson, Arizona, who teaches resource English for 9th and 10th graders. She is a mom to a daughter, 4, and son, 8-months.
This is not Kipley's first pumping rodeo; she says she was an exclusive pumper with her firstborn, who had trouble latching. During class at the time, her personal pumping schedule (every four hours) aligned with her class breaks.
“I am strictly providing for him, and so while I’m at work, I have to pump, or I get engorged, which can lead to mastitis, and my supply would tank if I’m not released,” Kipley tells TODAY.com. “So that’s why I do it.”
This school year, however, was different.
Kipley's class schedule didn't align with when she pumps. So, she had to adjust. Getting an aide, substitute, or even appearing on Zoom during her pumping times were options that ran through her head. But none of those felt practical for Kipley, as she did not want to miss time away from class and her students.
"And then it was literally the day before we went back to work, and I was just like, 'You know what, I'm gonna try this,'" Kipley says.
Kipley’s pumping plan went viral on TikTok with 3.2 million views for her “Pump and Pour” Q&A video, where she explained to the internet how she pumps during class.
Kipley first emailed her principal to get clearance to pump in class with wearable pumps.
"He was like, 'You go, girl,''' Kipley recalls.
So, how does this work?
Kipley brings her wearable pumps to school every day, where she pumps during her second and fourth periods. To apply her pumps, Kipley goes into a private side room in her classroom. Once settled, she returns and proceeds with class. While she pumps in class, Kipley wears a nursing poncho as her pumping cover. After 30 minutes, she returns to the private room to remove her pumps.
Kipley says she has always been transparent with her students and parents about her pumping. She makes it clear that her pumps have never been a distraction in class.
“Obviously, they have a little bit of buzzing, like a little bit of vibrating, and you wouldn’t be able to hear it if you were standing six feet away from me, that’s how they’re very quiet,” she says.
“When I’m walking around my room, when I walk past you, you could definitely hear them,” she adds. “They’re not loud, they’re not distracting.”
Kipley says she’s had no issues and is surrounded by support.
“All of my kids have been so great, and their parents have been so supportive,” she says.
Kipley is also thankful for her administration.
"It just makes me love where I work that much more, especially my principal," she says. "He's a male, and I feel like that is such a hard topic to go up to your male supervisor and be like, 'hey, I need a pump.'''
After posting the pumping video, Kipley says she received mixed reactions from viewers.
Kipley reflects on the negativity that can come with being a working mom that pumps or breastfeeds, "It’s so hard. So why are we making things harder for women?"
"Why are we being so negative about this and s*xualizing breastfeeding?" she continues. "That’s my biggest pet peeve, because it’s not s*xual at all."
On the bright side, Kipley says she finds it inspiring how her students are being exposed to something important, like breast feeding, and a woman going back to work while having a baby at home.
"Times have changed, and technology has gotten so much better with these pumps and how quiet they are and how well they work," Kipley says. "I want to teach that everyone is so different, and to accept every stage in every person's life."
https://www.today.com/parents/breastfeeding/high-school-teacher-pumps-breastmilk-during-class-rcna252976
