Creating a Lactation Room in Hospitals for Employees

• Returning to work after birth can not only be mentally, physically exhausting, but also emotional having to leave your baby after being home for weeks. A lot of mother’s who return to work after their maternity leave, are still breastfeeding or pumping. 
• Continuation of breast feeding or pumping is essential signal to the body to continue to produce milk, even at work. 
• Employers are legally obligated to set aside a dedicated space to do so at work. A lactation room is a private room where a mom can pump or breastfeed as needed. Read on for suggestions on designing a lactation room by an IBCLC. 

The Need for a Lactation Room

According to the 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey: “The total number of active RN and LPN/LVN licenses in the United States were 4,198,031 and 944,813, respectively. And Males accounted for 9.4% of the RN workforce, an increase of 0.3 percentage points since 2017. Additionally, males accounted for 8.1% of all LPNs/LVNs, an increase of 0.4 percentage points since 2017”. 

With female nurses accounting for over 90% of the workforce and considering how much time nurses spend in the hospital, here are some ways to support those that might be breastfeeding/pumping.  

Here you will find some ideas to consider. If you’d like more thorough input you could hire an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) who can provide guidance and/or conduct an anonymous survey in your organization requesting for employees to fill out. 

Desiging a Lactation Room

It’s wise to consider how many women are likely to be needing the room or space, since women have to pump every 2 to 3 hours if there is more than one woman breastfeeding, a space where several moms can be pumping should be considered and provided. 

Pumping takes time, consider implementing a lighter patient load for those nurses that are breastfeeding/pumping and ensure they have someone that can take over their patients when they need to step away to pump. 

If the hospital is large, having several pumping rooms throughout should be considered so it doesn’t take a long time for someone to get to the pumping room since they will need to go to it at least 3 to 4 times each shift, if the shift is 12 hours long.  

A door that locks from the inside and a space that is away from where others might hear the pump running.  

The lock on the door will allow women to feel comfortable and be able to relax while pumping. Many mothers find it uncomfortable when everyone around them can hear they are pumping even if they can’t be seen. 

Setting up a way for employees to schedule time in the room. Some companies set up a Google Calendar that only breastfeeding/pumping women and a designated supportive and knowledgeable coordinator will have access to.  

Knowing ahead of time when the space might be occupied will allow women to organize their day according to the space reserved and their need to pump. 

Organizing the Space

The space will need to be clean and sanitary. 

 Some thoughts to consider when planning the space: 

• Sink for handwashing and for cleaning pump parts.  
• Hand sanitizer. 
• A mirror to ensure tidiness before going back to work. (In case of a spill.) 
• Microwave for sterilizing pump parts. 
• Fridge to store breastmilk. Employees should have access to store and retrieve their milk even if the lactation room is occupied, without disturbing the person that is pumping. 
• Space that can be locked where employees can store their breast pumping supplies.  
• Supplies to clean the space and equipment in between users.  
• Provide temperature control so temperature can be adjusted (warm/cool). 
• Comfortable furniture including a couple of hooks to hang their bags, a table and electrical outlets. Breast Pumps usually need to be connected to the wall.  
• Consider warm lighting that is not on a motion sensor. 
• Relaxing ambiance. Making this a space where moms feel comfortable and can relax while pumping.  
• Access to wifi. 
• Ensure privacy of each pumping mom including if this is a shared room (where more than one person can pump at the same time.) 
• Consider electronic access control to limit who has access to the room and ensure privacy. 

It is beneficial to educate all employees including leadership and charge nurses about the basics of breastfeeding and emphasizing that this company is supportive of breastfeeding and will do its best to support breastfeeding employees, so nurses can feel supported and be given the appropriate breaks. 

Other Considerations for a Lactation Room

Many companies chose to provide snacks and have refreshing beverages available.  

As well as some multi-user hospital grade pumps such as a Medela Symphony pump available and pumping supplies.  

According to their website the Medela Symphony pump is a: ”Hospital grade (multi-user): The pump’s kit is separate from the pumping mechanism and protected from overflow by a specially designed membrane”. 

A multi-user pump would need to be wiped down between users.  

Some hospitals might consider having pumping rooms available for family members of patients as well. 

If the hospital offers prenatal classes, such as breastfeeding, infant care classes, childbirth, infant CPR, consider providing employees and a +1, free access to the classes. In some cases insurance might cover some of those classes. 

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