Nursing mother gets extra time on medical licensing exam

Article

A Massachusetts appeals court judge ruled that a Harvard medical student must be given extra time during her 9-hour licensing exam to express milk to feed her 4-month-old daughter. The ruling overturned a lower court’s decision and a refusal by the National Board of Medical Examiners to give Sophie Currier a 60-minute break to pump milk, instead of the standard 45-minute break.

A Massachusetts appeals court judge ruled that a Harvard medical student must be given extra time during her 9-hour licensing exam to express milk to feed her 4-month-old daughter. The ruling overturned a lower court’s decision and a refusal by the National Board of Medical Examiners to give Sophie Currier a 60-minute break to pump milk, instead of the standard 45-minute break.

Currie’s case received support from Alison Stuebe, a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and a member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. The New York Times (9/10/2007) reported that Stuebe’s affidavit noted that “45 minutes is insufficient time for a nursing mother of a 4-month-old to eat, drink, use the restroom, and to fully and properly express breast milk using an electric pump two times over the course of 8 hours.”

A state appeals court judge agreed: “Currier needs the extra time to put her on ‘equal footing’ with the men and non-lactating women who take the exam,” reported the Associated Press (9/26/07).

Recent Videos
Lisa Becht, MD, FACOG, sheds light on fertility awareness | Image Credit: havingbabies.com.
First US national HPV conference highlights advances in cancer prevention | Image Credit: uchealth.com.
Mitchell Creinin, MD, reports estetrol pill eases menstrual symptoms | Image Credit: health.ucdavis.edu
1 expert is featured in this series.
Susanna Mitro, PhD, reveals ethnic disparities in uterine fibroid diagnosis | Image Credit: divisionofresearch.kaiserpermanente.org.
Shayna Mancuso, DO, highlights the real impact of menopause | Image Credit: linkedin.com.
Jihong Liu, ScD, explains how to improve perinatal outcomes in COVID patients | Image Credit: sc.edu.
1 expert is featured in this series.
Jihong Liu, ScD, highlights adverse perinatal outcomes linked to the COVID pandemic | Image Credit: sc.edu.
Experts highlight infant health benefits from minor diet changes in pregnancy | Image Credit: ohsu.edu.
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.