Lactation suite aims to make campus more inclusive for nursing mothers
February 23, 2024
(Photo courtesy of Dr. Tyra Gross)
Xavier has revamped its first lactation suite that is free to use for students, staff, and guests of the university. The idea behind the lactation suite was to provide a safe space for moms who are currently nursing. According to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed by former president Barrack Obama, under Section 4207 Fair Labor Standards Act, the employer must provide a place other than a bathroom for the employee to express milk. Xavier’s Title IX, federal civil rights law also protects people from discrimination based on sex and gender. So according to the law, Xavier needed an adequate lactation space for mothers.
“The lactation suite is not new, it has been reimplemented due to COVID. The university had to turn the room into extra offices due to social distancing restrictions,” said Virginia Pellerin, the assistant dean of Health and Wellness, who supervised the re-installment of the lactation space on campus.
(Photo courtesy of Virginia Pellerin)
The lactation suite is a university initiative overseen by the Office of Student Health Services. It is located on the first floor of the library near the civic center and is open 24 hours. The lactation room is split into two rooms decorated with greenery, wall décor, soft lighting, and even white noise machines.
The first room also includes refrigeration if mothers would like to store their milk, they would simply just have to label it. The second room consists of a den-like setting that allows mothers who may already have smaller children to relax while they lactate in the other room. This is why Pellerin described the space as a suite.
The idea behind the suite being in the library and not in St. Joe’s where Health Services is located is due to the high-risk environment where students often enter the building sick, and the university did not want to expose lactating mothers to illness and germs. The location of the room also adds privacy for the mothers as it is in the back of the library and is cleaned weekly by SODEXO, the university’s food and facilities management company. The staff of Health Services also restock the room weekly with supplies such as wipes, tissues, and supplies.
“When decorating the lactation suite, there were several goals we wanted to achieve,” said Adrienne Dotson, the manager and insurance coordinator for the Office of Student Health Services.
“Upon entering the space, we want the new mother to know that the university fully supports her decision to breastfeed by providing a clean, private, serene, comfortable environment, that hopefully makes her feel as though she’s in the privacy of her own home,” Dotson added.
(Photo courtesy of Virginia Pellerin)
The space is being welcomed by not only students but faculty and staff who have been managing teaching and administrative duties as new moms.
“The thought of pumping in my office made me anxious,” said Dr. Tyra Gross, an associate professor and the head of the Department of Public Health Sciences who shared how she had to balance breastfeeding while teaching as a new mom.
