A recent WIAReport post showed that many women who return to work after giving birth face barriers in their ability to breastfeed or to pump breast milk for their babies. This can be true in both the corporate and academic worlds.
But some universities do a better job than others in this regard. The University of New Mexico reports that it has set up 21 different lactation stations on its campus. Previously, the only lactation stations on campus were located at the Women’s Resource Center. But now they can be found in buildings throughout campus and even more are planned.
The addition of new stations has shown positive results. In the 2013-14 academic year there were 6,689 log-ins to use the lactation stations on campus. In the 2014-15 academic year, there were 14,757 separate sessions at the university’s lactation centers. This is a 121 percent increase in just one year.
The New Mexico Breastfeeding Taskforce has informed the university that it want to showcase the University of New Mexico’s policies as a model for other educational institutions throughout the state. Cindy Chavez, a member of the taskforce stated that the University of New Mexico is going above and beyond federal and state regulations to support employees.