One Arizona English teacher made it her mission to show how motherhood and classroom responsibilities can coexist

In the fall of 2025, Kayla Kipley, a high school English teacher of nine years, found herself navigating a new challenge when she returned to the classroom after maternity leave.

After giving birth to her second child in April, the 32-year-old was determined to continue breastfeeding her son — a choice that was both personally important and financially necessary for her family.

However, getting back to work meant she needed to pump every few hours throughout the day, often during key teaching periods.

“When I pumped for my daughter, I had a pump that required it to be plugged into an outlet while it was on, so I was stuck in my chair,” Kipley tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I was also lucky that my planning period and lunch fell perfectly on the times I needed to pump, so I was never in need of coverage.”

That, however, was four years ago, and this year she has a full schedule, including an added class each day and no planning period to rely on.

Although her administration offered relief so she could step away from class twice a day, she declined, unwilling to let her students’ learning be interrupted.

“While taking a 30-minute ‘break’ in the middle of my busy teaching day sounded wonderful, I knew it wouldn’t be fair to my students,” Kipley emphasizes, adding that teachers are also under more pressure to perform and meet rising academic standards, now, more than ever.

“I knew if I was gone for 30 minutes during my freshman English class, their overall academic experience would suffer, which gave me a lot of anxiety,” she admits.

Instead, Kipley found a creative solution that allowed her to meet her own needs while staying fully present in the classroom: pumping while actively teaching.

Determined to find a way to make it work, Kipley began researching wearable pumps.

To her surprise, she learned that they’re designed specifically with working mothers in mind – compact, discreet, easy to clean and quiet enough to use throughout a busy school day.

“I go into a separate room to put the pumps in my bra, and I go into that same room to remove the pumps,” Kipley explains. “I only pour my milk during a passing period and clean my pumps during this time as well.”

To avoid leaking, potentially forming clogs and to manage overall discomfort, the mother of two needs to pump every three hours throughout the day.

She typically pumps before leaving for work at 7 a.m., again during her second-period class at 10 a.m., and once more during fourth period around 1 p.m.

After school, Kipley nurses her baby at home, eliminating the need to pump for the rest of the day.

Kipley tells PEOPLE that since she began pumping in class, her students have been nothing but understanding.

She explained her situation at the start of the year, and as a result, hasn’t experienced any negative reactions from them.

“I told them it would only be for 30 minutes of the class period, you might hear light buzzing coming from me, and this is why I wear a very large poncho nursing cover,” Kipley shares.

Kipley often plays background music, such as Lo-fi, during class, which helps fade out the sound of her pumps.

“I also keep a distance from my students while I pump. I stay near my desk or teach in the front of the room,” she adds. “Wearing the large nursing cover seems to add a layer of comfort for both me and them.”

Three months into the journey, Kipley’s students have grown accustomed to her pumping during class, with some even showing curiosity and asking thoughtful questions about the process.

“My second-period freshmen are all 13 and 14 years old. They have never been disrespectful or immature about any of this,” she reveals. “I think a lot of that has to do with the way they have been raised, and I am incredibly thankful for parents raising their babies this way.”

When Kipley started posting informational videos online about her decision to pump during class, she was faced with a good amount of backlash.

“I think a lot of criticism stems from those who have not been exposed to motherhood, nursing or pumping,” she says. “I understand that these things may sound intimidating to these specific people. That’s okay. This is why I started sharing my journey and talking about motherhood on my TikTok account.”

As a proud working mother, Kipley finds deep-rooted support in her family, friends, students and her school administration.

“I’m extremely blessed with the amount of support I have received from them and my colleagues,” she shares. “I pump during staff meetings as well, which always leads to encouraging words and conversations.”

However, as of November 2025, Kipley claims she is no longer allowed to use her classroom to film pump-and-pour videos — despite only doing so when students aren’t around.

“I tried to push back that I was simply trying to spread awareness and share my experiences. District officials are not budging,” she reveals. While the district does not want her filming the videos in school, she is still allowed to pump in class.

Nevertheless, Kipley says she is determined to continue her content, even if it means filming from her home or car, in hopes of inspiring other teachers and mothers.

Stepping into this journey, Kipley never realized the impact she would also have on her students.

“I just want to teach my students to be accepting of everyone in all stages of life,” she tells PEOPLE. “I want them to see the bigger picture before passing judgment.”

@kaylaaa_az00 Little Monday Q&A. #pumpingmom #pumpandpourwithme #wearablepumps #teacherlife #pumpingatwork ♬ original sound – Kayla