New mom denied breast-feeding time during doctor test

BOSTON --A Harvard student cannot have extra break time during her nine-hour medical licensing exam so she can pump breast milk to feed her 4-month-old daughter, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Sophie Currier, 33, sued after the National Board of Medical Examiners turned down her request to take more than the standard 45 minutes in breaks during the exam. She said that if she does not nurse her daughter, Lea, or pump breast milk every two to three hours, she risks medical complications, including engorgement and inflammation.

Norfolk Superior Court Judge Patrick Brady said Currier has other options, beyond asking the board to change its rules for her.

"The plaintiff may take the test and pass, notwithstanding what she considers to be unfavorable conditions. The plaintiff may delay the test, which is offered numerous times during the year, until she has finished her breast-feeding and the need to express milk," he said.

Currier, of Brookline, has finished a joint M.D.-Ph.D. program at Harvard University while having two babies in the past two years. She has been offered a residency in clinical pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital in November, but cannot accept it unless she passes the test. Her goal is a career in medical research.

Currier has taken the test once already, in April when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant, but she failed by a few points. She said she planned to breast-feed her daughter for a year and doesn't want to put off the exam.

"The judge's conclusion that there is no harm to a woman to putting her career off for a year is the basis of discrimination," she said. "Men do not have to put off their careers because they are feeding a child."

Currier, who also has a 22-month-old son, already has received special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act for dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, including permission to take the test over two days instead of one. She is scheduled to take the exam Monday and Tuesday.

The board cited the need to be consistent in the amount of break time given to people taking the test and said other nursing mothers who have taken the exam have found the 45 minutes of permitted break time sufficient.

"Where she's disabled, we've addressed that under federal law, but this is something that is not a disability," said the board's attorney, Joseph Savage. "This means it will be somewhat more difficult for her to take the test, but there are a lot of people who face challenges in taking the test -- childcare obligations, medical conditions that make it harder -- and we just can't change the test for everybody who faces a challenge."

Federal anti-discrimination laws do not protect nursing mothers. The Breast-feeding Promotion Act, pending in Congress, would protect women from being fired or punished for pumping or nursing during breaks.

Currier's lawyer, Christine Smith Collins, said she would ask the state Appeals Court to hear the case and issue a ruling before Currier takes the test next week.

"This fight is not over," Currier said.

In his ruling, the judge said the board offered Currier several special accommodations, including a separate testing room where she can express milk during the test or during break time, and the option to leave the test center to breast-feed during break times.

Currier said she originally asked for a minimum of 20 minutes of extra break time, but the board rejected that. In her lawsuit, she asked for an extra 60 minutes.

"My motivation is that this ruling affects all women who are lactating," she said.

"A woman at McDonald's could lose her job if she takes time to lactate, yet that is what she should do for the health of her child. We need legal protection in order for women to be able to do both things."