Do American Colleges and Universities Support the Lactation Needs of Students?

Abstract

Despite strong evidence for the health benefits of breastfeeding, many mothers cannot continue breastfeeding their infants upon their return to work or school. Students are especially affected by this transition because they do not have legal protection that requires designated lactation space or time to express milk to be provided by places of education. Furthermore, limited research has been completed that specifically addresses the return to school of mothers who are students. One hundred fifty-seven colleges and universities from across the United States were contacted through telephone and/or e-mail, and their websites were searched to assess the support they offer for lactating students. The presence of a formal policy for lactating students and designated lactation rooms, accessible to students, were the key measures. Information was gathered from 88.53% (n = 139) of the colleges and universities. A mere 3.6% (n = 5) had an official policy for lactating students and/or had the lactation spaces mentioned in the student handbook. However, more than half of the colleges and universities (54.68%; n = 76) had designated lactation spaces accessible to their students. The vast majority of the sample did not have a policy for lactating students, and almost half of the schools did not have designated space for milk expression accessible to students. Lactating students will likely encounter challenges in simultaneously sustaining breastfeeding and meeting their educational goals in these contexts. To meet the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics of 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding for 1 year or more, American colleges and universities must establish not only designated spaces for milk expression but also policies to support lactating students.