--- description: Wisconsin sheriff says expressing milk for a newborn while behind bars is a 'privilege' title: Jail Forbids Woman from Pumping Breast Milk for Newborn Baby image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt481870b2039d5b31/698683dee53aba5c894d14b3/466457181.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jail Forbids New Mother From Pumping Breast Milk  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Mar 4, 2014 4:39 PM CUT  Breast pump with bottles Breast pump with bottlesJamie Grill—Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Mar 4, 2014 4:39 PM CUT A mother in Wisconsin [claims that she was not allowed to pump breast milk](http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20140302/GPG0101/303020304/Battle-over-breast-milk-Woman-says-Brown-Co-Jail-should-let-her-pump?nclick%5Fcheck=1 "undefined") for her newborn daughter during her seven-day stint in jail that ended on Feb. 26\. According to the allegations, both the woman’s health and that of the baby suffered as a result: she was unable to lactate afterwards and the baby suffered from digestive problems. Officials at the prison said that they only allow women to pump their breast milk in cases where it’s medically necessary because they have limited refrigerator space. “We try to be very accommodating,” Sheriff John Gossage told the Green Bay _Press-Gazette_. “But the fact is that when you’re incarcerated, you lose a lot of privileges that you otherwise had when you’re not in jail.” Britney Weber was imprisoned for two contempt of court charges in a traffic case and was unable to post her bond. Weber says that after a week of not being able to express her milk, her now four-week-old daughter, she no longer can breastfeed — a common problem among new moms whose nursing is interrupted. It’s unclear whether Weber has filed a complaint, but the case brings up a serious issue: is providing nutrition to your newborn really a “privilege?” And why would only some kinds of nursing be considered a medical necessity? “Everybody stresses the importance of breast-feeding,” Weber [said](http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20140302/GPG0101/303020304/Battle-over-breast-milk-Woman-says-Brown-Co-Jail-should-let-her-pump "undefined"). “You’d think that for people who were there for a short time, they would allow it.” \[[_Green Bay Press-Gazette_](http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20140302/GPG0101/303020304/Battle-over-breast-milk-Woman-says-Brown-Co-Jail-should-let-her-pump?nclick%5Fcheck=1 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/12329/jail-forbids-a-new-mother-from-pumping-breast-milk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/12329/jail-forbids-a-new-mother-from-pumping-breast-milk/"},"headline":"Jail Forbids New Mother From Pumping Breast Milk","datePublished":"2014-03-04T16:39:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:34:10.093Z","description":"Wisconsin sheriff says expressing milk for a newborn while behind bars is a 'privilege'","url":"https://time.com/12329/jail-forbids-a-new-mother-from-pumping-breast-milk/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt481870b2039d5b31/698683dee53aba5c894d14b3/466457181.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt481870b2039d5b31/698683dee53aba5c894d14b3/466457181.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Breast pump with bottles","caption":"Breast pump with bottles","creditText":"Jamie Grill—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/12329/jail-forbids-a-new-mother-from-pumping-breast-milk/","name":"Jail Forbids New Mother From Pumping Breast Milk"}}]}] ```