Facilities Services has revised the UNC Design Guidelines so all new construction and major renovation projects must include a designated lactation space, said Clare Counihan, program coordinator for faculty and staff at the Carolina Women’s Center.
For buildings that aren’t about to be renovated, Provost Jim Dean and Chancellor Carol Folt have approved money to add lactation rooms, Counihan said.
The University and the Carolina Women’s Center have worked together to meet two major goals — having a lactation room within a two-minute walk of any part of campus, and educating students, faculty and staff about their entitlement to spaces for nursing.
Counihan, who worked to get this project off the ground, said it will have a huge impact on campus.
“Students, staff without individual offices and faculty teaching away from their offices need a private, clean space to pump or nurse that is not a bathroom,” she said in an email.
Counihan said the addition of lactation rooms makes the University a more inclusive environment. It eliminates a complication that arises for women who want to return to work and have decided to breastfeed their child.
“With campus support, mothers who choose to nurse can continue to pursue their educational and professional goals in balance with their personal and family decisions,” Counihan said.
She said this project is also a recognition that student demographics are continuously shifting — with more students starting college later in life or returning for further education.
