Milk Factory: Photographing America's Lactation Rooms
Corinne May Botz's book 'Milk Factory' documents the hidden spaces where American mothers pump breast milk at work, revealing the tension between productivity and caregiving. The US is the only high-income country without paid family leave, forcing many to pump in makeshift rooms—closets, disabled bathrooms, storage areas. Botz's stark photographs remove mother and child, focusing on the post-pump environment. The project includes stories from a legal scholar who pumped on trains, a co-director of the Alabama Prison Birth Project, and a dairy farmer who draws parallels between human and animal lactation. Botz notes the project's relevance amid threats to bodily autonomy and rising maternal mortality. Published by Saint Lucy Books.
Key facts
- The US is the only high-income country without paid family leave.
- Corinne May Botz photographed lactation rooms across America.
- The book 'Milk Factory' is published by Saint Lucy Books.
- Botz's images remove mother and child to focus on the room.
- Subjects include a legal scholar, a prison birth project co-director, and a dairy farmer.
- The project highlights the negotiation between connection and autonomy in motherhood.
- Lactation rooms are often repurposed spaces like closets or disabled bathrooms.
- Botz says the project is socially relevant due to threats to bodily autonomy and rising maternal mortality.
Entities
Artists
- Corinne May Botz
Institutions
- Saint Lucy Books
- Alabama Prison Birth Project
Locations
- United States
- Brooklyn
- Alabama