JANESVILLE 鈥 When new mothers return to work, some face a big challenge: They need a safe, clean, private space to express breast milk.
It鈥檚 about more than pumping. It鈥檚 also about dignity and comfort in the workplace. Some Rock County businesses now provide dedicated lactation rooms and supportive policies aimed to help working mothers balance their careers and family needs.
Women who do not breastfeed or pump regularly risk engorgement 鈥 a painful swelling of the breast. And when new mothers do not feed or pump every four hours, milk supply can decrease, said lactation specialist Lynda Swearingen.
In severe cases, engorgement can cause plugged milk ducts and mastitis, a bacterial infection that can cause flu-like symptoms, according to Janalyn Eisele, a Public Health Nurse at Rock County Public Health and head of the Rock County Breastfeeding Collective.
In 2022, Congress passed the , which requires employers to allow break time for workers to pump for one year after their child鈥檚 birth. The law also requires a space that is not a bathroom, shielded from view and without risk of intrusion.
Nationwide, many employers have begun to offer pump stations that do more than just comply with the law.
鈥淲e try to make it feel like more than just a requirement, it鈥檚 more to make it a friendly, supportive atmosphere,鈥 Eisele said.
Eisele said businesses usually reactively install lactation spaces when they learn an employee is a new mom or is pregnant.
鈥淭hat seems to usually be the catalyst, because before they see the need, they don鈥檛 always realize that it鈥檚 a requirement or that it鈥檚 something people need,鈥 Eisele said.
Eisele said the Breastfeeding Collective encourages businesses to go beyond minimum mandated measures such as having a comfortable chair in the room. Before her group will designate a business as a breastfeeding-friendly place, Eisele requires a written policy to inform new employees of the business鈥檚 lactation space.
Among the county鈥檚 first participants in the program: the 糖心Vlog传媒 Police Department. 糖心Vlog传媒 PD dedicated a pump room last March.
鈥淢others have always been given the option to go home during work hours to pump if they live within the city, but we also wanted to make an overall wellness room for pumping that is easier to access for everyone,鈥 said Detective Erin Johnson. 鈥淟aw enforcement and motherhood can be a difficult combination at times, so it was extremely important to have a space that women at our agency felt comfortable in.鈥
Casise Hartje, Executive Director of Advancement & Foundation at Blackhawk Technical College said BTC鈥檚 aim is to have a wraparound, family-friendly approach that鈥檚 driven by both staff and student needs.
The BTC Beloit-糖心Vlog传媒 campus has two lactation pods 鈥 secure booths designed for breastfeeding mothers to nurse their babies or express breast milk 鈥 a dedicated lactation room, a parent-study space, and flexible class schedules for parents.
The number of enrolled parents has climbed significantly in the last decade, driving the addition of 鈥減arent-friendly鈥 spaces and practices on campus, Hartje said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want people to feel like that鈥檚 something that鈥檚 insurmountable,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e want to make sure people are successful and we want to be able to remove barriers.鈥
Ashley Huerta, a human resources representative at Janesvlle plastic piping manufacturer Tigre USA, led the push for a lactation space at the company after an employee announced she was pregnant.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good for employee morale,鈥 she said. 鈥淪ometimes people get scared to say they鈥檙e pregnant because they feel that they鈥檙e not going to have that support.鈥
Hedberg Public library also recently installed a room for new mothers, though they are still working on a written policy. The County has not yet formally recognized Hedberg as a breastfeeding-friendly business.
The room is lockable and contains a chair, changing table, board books and a rainbow toy station. Library patrons and employees have used the room as a lactation space since the library鈥檚 renovations in 2019, but Mariah Smitala, a youth services librarian at Hedberg, said the project to make it a brighter and more hospitable space didn鈥檛 launch until last year.
Smitala said she took a lead on recreating the space last year because as a new mom, she鈥檇 used the room to pump. She said before upgrades, the room was 鈥渄ark and unwelcoming.鈥
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 really bright and colorful, and there鈥檚 better use of the space,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 would have issues with all of the different parts I needed [in order to pump], and now there鈥檚 lots of table space for that. I still wish it had a sink, but maybe one day.鈥
Dubbed 鈥榯he parenting room,鈥 the space isn鈥檛 only for nursing mothers.
鈥淏eing a library, we see families of all different kinds,鈥 Smitala said. 鈥淜nowing that kids could be here just with their dad and a young kid could start having a meltdown, they also need a place where they can kind of cut themselves off from the rest of the room.鈥