PVCC’s Relaxing Space for New Mothers

PVCC is no stranger to parents. Whether it be a stay-at-home dad doing online coursework during naptime, a working mother taking night classes towards her associate’s degree, or young parents balancing their college plans with their parenting journey, PVCC is a parent-friendly campus that offers resources for anyone who needs them. One resource that people may be unfamiliar with is the lactation room.

“We’re trying to expand more services and wrap more services around student parents,” says Shannon Meade, the Student Resource Center manager at PVCC. The lactation room is just one of the services the SRC is seeking to highlight. 

The lactation room is a private space for students, staff, and faculty at PVCC to pump and breastfeed in comfort and dignity. The presence of a lactation room eases the difficult choice students may feel forced to make between getting pregnant and pursuing an education, and the similar choice between career and pregnancy for staff and faculty. The room offers complete privacy in a clean, comfortable space designed with lactating mothers in mind. 

To access the lactation room, visit the Student Resource Center in room M103 in the Main Building for the key. People intending to use the room can also get the key from Meade in office M105 or Kelsey Waters, the assistant Student Resource Center manager, in office M104. To use the room after 5:30 p.m., contact the PVCC Department of Public Safety and Campus Police at 434-981-6362 for access instead. The room is located in room M803 in the corner of the Technology Wing of the Main Building.

The door to the lactation room locks to ensure privacy for the person inside and is equipped with a sliding vacant/occupied sign. The room is furnished with a leather armchair that rocks, swivels, and extends to allow users to lactate comfortably on a non-absorbent, easy-to-clean surface. The room is lit by a warm lamp that can be turned on and off by the person in the room and an overhead light connected to the hallway. There are new baby toys available to take home and calming artworks on the walls to create a relaxing atmosphere. An adjacent washroom provides a sink, soap, paper towels, and baby wipes to clean up; the baby wipes are also available for people who need them to take for home use.

In addition to the furnishings, there is also a minifridge and a microwave provided by the college. The minifridge allows for the storage of pumped breast milk until the end of each day. The SRC plans to provide labels for identifying milk. The microwave is for sterilizing pumping equipment and heating up food for those who need to eat before they pump or breastfeed. Meade asks that people be respectful of others when using the microwave because strong scents can irritate other users of the room. There are also outlets available in the lactation room for electrical pumps. The outlets can also be used for personal devices for those who want to work while pumping.

Out of respect for other lactating people, users are asked to wipe down surfaces after use. SRC staff check the room daily to take out the trash and ensure that the refrigerator temperature is steady. The room is also cleaned by staff once a week. Once a quarter, the Facilities Management Office will deep clean the room. The lactation room door has contact and emergency exit information on the interior, and will include a set of rules for the space.

The lactation room is only allowed for lactation, and only permits one person inside. To prevent misuse, visitors must check in with the SRC for the key. The check-in log is not used for tracking lactating parents and is only referenced to check the occupancy of the room and the location of the key. If the room is misused, the log will point staff to the culprit and that person will be banned from accessing the lactation room. There is no hard time limit on using the room, but Meade asks that people try to limit their time to 45 minutes to an hour.

The room is furnished with lactation in mind, not baby changing. There is no changing table in the lactation room, and there is also not a changing table available in the closest bathroom. If a parent brings a breastfeeding infant to campus and uses the lactation room to breastfeed, they are welcome to bring a changing pad to change the infant in the room. 

“The more that we can highlight this resource, we can also try to know other resources that student parents might want on campus as well,” Meade says. “We hope that more students will take advantage of it.”

Meade encourages students, staff, and faculty with questions or concerns about the lactation room to reach out and let the SRC know. They are open to suggestions to make the lactation room a more safe and comfortable space to lactate.