Grey's Anatomy star talks using breast pump on TV

Publish date: 2024-06-19

As a mother-of-two and a working actress, Grey's Anatomy star Sarah Drew knows all too well the realities of being a working mom to newborns.

After her son Micah was born in January 2012, and her daughter Hannah in December of 2014, the 36-year-old New Yorker would have to pump milk at work while away form her kids.

So when her Grey's character Dr. April Kepner had babies and returned to the hospital, she requested that a breast pump scene be added to one of the episodes.

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Realistic: In last week's episode, Dr. April Kepner was seen finishing up with a breast pump on Grey's Anatomy

Realistic: In last week's episode, Dr. April Kepner was seen finishing up with a breast pump on Grey's Anatomy

Adding her own experience: Sarah Drew, who plays the character, specifically asked for that to be included in the scene

Adding her own experience: Sarah Drew, who plays the character, specifically asked for that to be included in the scene

In the scene, which aired early in last week's episode, April is seen in a hotel room while on a business trip. She's on the phone and shown with the pieces of a breast pump machine and a full bottle of milk, having just finished pumping off-camera for her baby Harriet.

According to an interview Sarah gave to Glamour, that bit wasn't in the script, but she asked the episode's director, Kevin McKidd, to have it added in.

'I asked to have [that] pumping scene. As a breastfeeding mother, I would be pumping if I was away from my baby. So that action, that cut, made it into the scene,' she said. 

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Share Working mom: The 36-year-old (pictured on the show) has two children in real life

Working mom: The 36-year-old (pictured on the show) has two children in real life

'I was like, "It's not in the script, but I would like to have a pump here, and I would like to be doing this action. And can we make sure that we have a wide enough shot to see it?"'

Kevin obliged, and even filmed with the wide shot to show all of the pumping equipment.

'It's something I really care about and is part of, for me, what it means to be a working mother. 

'You have to account for all of that stuff when you travel away from your child. I always really celebrate the moments where we get a window into that struggle or that journey,' she added.

Her take: She said pumping is a reality and that it was important for her to show it on TV

Her take: She said pumping is a reality and that it was important for her to show it on TV

Good reception: Sarah said the reaction to the moment on social media was positive

Good reception: Sarah said the reaction to the moment on social media was positive

Kevin agreed, saying: 'One of the big themes of our show is how do we make the best life with so many commitments when we're all pulled in so many directions? In that moment, it really portrayed that well. 

'It's important to show that we're all multitasking all the time, especially these doctors who are committed to their patients, but also their own lives going on, too. It's nice to let the audience know that we’re all going through it together.'

Sarah also noted how the show depicts a daycare in the hospital to drive home the realities of being a working parent, and said she was happy to see positive reactions to the breast pump on social media.

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