Ashland University provides a designated Lactation Room for faculty, staff, students, and visitors in need of a private space to express milk or nurse. The Nursing Mother’s Room is located on the second floor of Hawkins-Conard Student Center, next to the Commuter Lounge. The room locks from the inside, has electrical outlets for breast pumps, a refrigerator, a sink and provides a comfortable place to sit.
This resource for new mothers is part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the federal health care reform law) which requires employers to provide nursing mothers with reasonable break time and a dedicated room to express milk for up to one year following the birth of a child. A room must be shielded from view, free from intrusion by co-workers and the public, and cannot be a bathroom.
Use of the Nursing Mother’s Room is optional and a nursing mother who has a private office or access to private space may choose to use this space instead of a lactation room. However, a nursing mother who wishes to use a space other than a lactation room should consult with her supervisor in order to insure the availability and privacy of the space.
The room is available on a first come first serve basis for approximately 30 minutes. To use the nursing room, you will need to visit Safety Services to retrieve the room key. A photo ID is required for guests/visitors to use the space. The ID will need to be left at Safety Services until the key is returned after use. AU Faculty/Staff do not need to show an ID.
The Terms of Use are available online and are posted in the room. Signing out a key indicates agreement to the Terms of Use.
Students
AU students are welcome to use the room following the Terms of Use and guidelines above.
Employee
Employees are permitted to use regular break and lunch times in order to nurse or express milk. Additional reasonable breaks will be permitted as needed. It is the responsibility of the employee to coordinate the need, frequency and duration of time needed with her supervisor in a timely manner.
Supervisor
Supervisors should respond in a timely manner to an employee’s request for break and lunch times. Supervisors should be flexible with an employee’s request for altering break and/or lunch times.
For Guests and Visitors of Ashland University
Guests and visitors of the University will have access to the Nursing Mother’s Room through Safety Services, located on the first floor of the Student Center.
Lockers are available in the hallway if desired. Instructions for use are posted above the lockers.
TERMS OF USE
The room is provided so nursing mothers may have a comfortable and private place to express breast milk or nurse. Please do not use this room for any other purpose.
Please read the Release below before using the Nursing Mother’s Room, even if you do not plan to store breast milk in the unit. Signing out the key indicates agreement to the Terms of Use and Release.
If you choose to store milk in the refrigerator, please label with name and date collected so it is not inadvertently confused with another’s milk. Each mother is responsible for proper storage of her milk.
The room is not scheduled. A calendar has been provided so you can share with others when you plan to regularly use the room. It is not required that you share this information or use this space regularly, but the more you share such information with your peers, the more likely the space can be used efficiently and conveniently by all.
Ashland University cannot guarantee that any item left in this space is secure. Any items that are lost, damaged, stolen, or destroyed for any reason or by any cause, the University is not responsible.
Maintain the cleanliness of the space. Report any concerns, damage, or cleaning needs to Safety Services when returning the key.
If you have any suggestions for how to improve the operation of this space or how we can better assist parenting employees, students and visitors, please share your ideas via e-mail with Deborah Sullivan, Director of Campus Wellness, dsulliv@ashland.edu.
Lockers are available in the hallway if desired. Instructions for use are posted above the lockers.
RELEASE
I am aware that the University is providing a refrigerator in a secure room. I understand and hereby acknowledge that if my breast milk is damaged, lost, stolen, or destroyed for any reason or by any cause, including but not limited to acts of GOD, nature, weather, fire, theft, or otherwise, the University is not responsible.
I do hereby release, hold harmless, indemnify, waive, and discharge Ashland University and all its officers, agents, and employees from and against any claims, demands, actions, or causes of action arising from damages I may suffer or sustain by my storing breast milk in the Nursing Mother’s Room.
Signing out the key indicates understanding and agreement to the Terms of Use and Release statements.
Nursing Mother's Room Photos
