Invisibility or Visibility in Intimate Care at the Workplace? Examining the Use of Breast Pumps

Title of the Paper

Invisible or Visible: Intimate Care in the Workplace? Exploring the Use of Breast Pumps

Paper Information

• Field of Study: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), intimate care technologies, women's health and gender studies in workplace settings
• Keywords: body, breast pump, intimate care, breastfeeding, invisibility, visibility

Research Background and Issues

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?
  With the development of intimate care technologies, devices like breast pumps are increasingly being used in workplace settings, marking a shift of private technologies into public professional environments. This transition raises complex issues for users of breast pumps in balancing bodily needs with work pressures, as well as navigating the multiple layers of societal norms that regulate women's bodies and intimate care behaviors, especially in male-dominated workplaces or those lacking clear policy support.

• Why is this issue important?
  Intimate care involves personal medical rights, societal stigmatization of the body, and the use of the body for workplace productivity. Without appropriate design or social support, users may struggle to meet their bodily needs, leading to health issues, discomfort, and emotional stress. This also touches on broader issues of social equity and workplace support for diverse bodily needs.

• Research Motivation and Related Work
  This study expands existing discussions on breast pump usage, including explorations of women's health technology design and user experiences, particularly under the influence of sociocultural contexts. It specifically examines the inconveniences, tangible and intangible challenges of breast pump use, and how technology is accepted or normalized in workplace environments.

Solutions

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?
  Through cross-national qualitative interviews with 19 participants, the study analyzes women's experiences and challenges in using breast pumps in the workplace. The research focuses on the tension of "(in)visibility" presented by breast pumps and related intimate care technologies in the workplace, as well as how users exercise agency to navigate sociocultural norms.

• What is innovative about this solution?
  The study provides a unique cross-cultural analytical framework, delving into the sociotechnical configurations of breast pumps in workplace settings. It reveals the dynamic tension between visibility and privacy and proposes technological interventions and design ideas to transform workplace environments and norms.

• What are the implementation steps and key technologies used?

  1. Data Collection: Participants were recruited via social platforms, and semi-structured interviews were conducted, covering diverse professional backgrounds and work environments.
  2. Analysis Method: Reflexive thematic analysis was employed, avoiding reliance on predefined theoretical labels, with multiple rounds of coding, review, and theme extraction.
  3. Design Thinking: Proposed directions for new technologies include improving workplace spaces for intimate care, increasing visibility of breast pump activities and individual needs, and fostering sociocultural change.

Research Outcomes

• What specific results were achieved?

  • The study highlighted the complex experiences of breast pump users in the workplace, including the coordination of space (e.g., concealed, shared, open spaces) and time, as well as the tension between work and intimate care.
  • Practical analysis showed that the invisibility of breast pumps and the invisibility of intimate care in workplace culture created inconveniences for users, who often had to choose between concealing or suppressing their bodily needs to align with productivity goals.

• How does it compare to existing solutions?

  • The study provides a broader perspective by incorporating cross-national and cross-cultural insights, collecting real-world experiences of breast pump use from diverse workplace types and examining related power dynamics.
  • It emphasizes that breast pump design should not solely focus on invisibility and convenience but, in certain cases, should encourage "visibility" to promote workplace support for intimate care needs.

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?
  Through firsthand narratives from individual participants, the study revealed the applicability and challenges of breast pumps in workplace settings, including device design (portability, noise control, etc.) and the lack of uniform workplace norms for accepting intimate care activities.

• Limitations and Future Directions

  • Limitations include the sample size and linguistic bias (as recruitment used the term "breast pump" rather than more neutral language, potentially excluding experiences of gender minorities such as transgender individuals).
  • Future directions: Propose more comprehensive research to explore the use of other intimate technologies in workplaces and design technologies to normalize intimate care behaviors in professional settings (e.g., notifications integrated into work tools, educational resources, etc.).

Conclusion

Through qualitative analysis, this study deeply explores how breast pumps intersect with workplace power structures, cultural norms, and users' personal needs. The authors emphasize that mere technological invisibility cannot resolve the sociocultural issues surrounding intimate technologies like breast pumps and may even exacerbate them. They propose leveraging technological innovation and social design to foster workplace acceptance and support for diverse bodily needs, including intimate care.