When This New Mom Had to Pump While Working at the Dollar Store, Her Sign Got the Best Reaction

If you thought it was tough going back to work after maternity leave, let this working mom's situation put things into perspective for you.

Codey Burghard was about to go to her local dollar store when she noticed the door was locked and saw a hand-written sign posted on the glass. It read: "Sorry. Had to pump for baby and no one else is here. Be back in 30. Thanks."

Turns out, the Ohio-based Family Dollar cashier was all alone during her shift, despite needing time to pump breast milk in privacy.

Codey, a mom herself, posted a photo of the storefront on Facebook — but instead of expressing frustration at the inconvenience of not being able to shop when she arrived, she offered an empathetic response.

"I'm sure there's gonna be at least one customer who complains, but I support this 100 percent," she wrote. "It's not the employee's fault at all. Pumping at work is a right and employers can't take that way. Even understaffed moms gotta do what they gotta do."

In the two weeks since her post went up, it has been shared 21,000 times, and in an update on Facebook, Codey said she went back to the store to tell the working mom just how many people supported her, sign and all.

"She was so sweet and said she was scared but she really needed to pump," she wrote.

It certainly would be frightening for any employee to have to make a judgment call that juxtaposes their personal needs with the financial goals of their employer, but the more the rest of us — like Codey — can support working moms struggling to find the time and resources necessary to pump, the better.