Don’t think you can create a lactation room at your command? Think again with these tips from AD moms who have been successful!
As mentioned in the Making Plans page, you may want to consider setting up a lactation room at your command, especially if there is more than one breastfeeding mom (and don’t be surprised if more moms show up, seemingly out of nowhere once the room is in place…you may be the first to actually do anything about it) at your command. Also, don’t let your rank get in the way, mothers from E-4 to O-4 have been successful at getting lactation rooms set-up at their commands. It isn’t nearly as difficult as it sounds. The hardest part will be sending the request up your chain of command!
Here is a step-by-step plan for making a lactation room a reality:
- Find a suitable area. This may be a conference room, unused office, storage closet, unused clinic room, lounge, locker room. Any place that has a locking door, electrical outlet and can hold a table and a chair or two. It is better if it is near running water. Of course that is the bare minimum, you can always amenities later.
- Write a memo, citing the regulations and policies of your service, the various statements put out by the AAP and WHO regarding the importance of breastfeeding to you and your baby’s health, and outline what you need in the way of a room and supplies (locked door, chairs, electrical outlet, sink/running water), and then send it up your chain of command for approval. Remember, the Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy are required, by policy, to provide a secluded space with running water for expressing milk.
- Once approved, find the supplies you’ll need: table and chairs, refrigerator, bulletin board, notebook/log book, reading materials (breastfeeding information, magazines), phone, computer (for doing work/writing reports), a mirror (for fixing your uniform before heading back out). A shower curtain to hang from the ceiling can be useful (so that when the door is opened not everyone can see you sitting there exposed). A sign for the outside of the door may be a good idea as well.
- Inquire as to whether your command might order some hospital-grade pumps for mothers to use. There is nothing in the policies to deny this and other commands HAVE been successful in doing so.
- If you are feeling extra hung-ho, you may want to consider writing a breastfeeding support policy that your command can keep on file. This will ensure that your hard work will not go to waste and that the lactation room and support will remain long after you transfer to a new command. Here is a local policy written for a Navy command that was successfully approved and is currently in use: Command Breastfeeding Policy.
And that’s it. It is pretty simple and something that your command is required to provide you. It may be nothing more than a supply closet with a stool, an electrical outlet and a locking door or as fancy as a fully decked out lounge area with a couch, sink, and multiple hospital-grade pumps. But so long as you have a private and safe area to express your milk, you are set!
