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Crayon sketch by Pablo Picasso 1904 |
Survey on Pumping Facilities (Lactation Rooms)
The following questions were asked about pumping facilities:- The name of your company & the industry you're in
- Approximate # of employees at your site
- Location of the pumping facility
- Description of the pumping facility
- Your comments on the impact of such a facility
- Estimate of number of users of the pumping facility
- How long has the facility been around & how did it get proposed?
Boeing. Here in Huntsville we do aerospace and defense; most work on the International Space Station.
We had about 1800 employees here when it was built. However, only some of those were on-site where the pump facility is. (My guess is that the Jetplex "population" ranges from 800-1200, depending on the stage of the programs here.)
In one of the buildings at the main Boeing site here in Huntsville. It is located in the basement and you can enter only thru the women's restroom, and you must get a key from Security as it is locked. After checking out a key set (key for door, 2 for your locker), you keep the keys until whenever you quit pumping. (There is an exit door into the hall, but it has no outside knob.)
It is a large room subdivided with cubicle walls. When you enter, there is a "kitchen" on the left, with a fridge, a sink for washing stuff (incl. dishwashing liquid and a bottle brush and towels), and a large counter for air-drying or whatever. There is a small cabinet opposite the fridge with 4 lockers; you get a key to one of the lockers when you get the room key. The remainder of the room is divided into 2 pumping areas. Each has an easy chair that swivels and rocks, a small side table with a lamp on it, and of course an electrical outlet.
I'm not sure. I know there have been several people who have used it since it was built, and I have used it a couple of times. I would love to use it more often, but I am located off-site. At least one other person is using it now, if not more. (Note: I wrote that when I started this note, back when you first asked about it. Now I am on loan to a group here at the Jetplex, and use of the pumping facility is one of the few things I like about it!)
Between 94 and 96, had 6 people using it. Not sure, but nurse thinks they are averaging about 6 employees at a time. I know there are at least 3 of us using it right now
It was built in 1994. An e-mail was sent to Facilities by an employee in April 1994, and Facilities called a meeting on it. The plant manager jumped on it, found out what it would cost, and said do it. It was opened in Aug. 1994. Our nurse gathered info to show why it was a good idea, etc.; primary selling point were studies showing decreased hospitalization time/sick time for breastfed infants, meaning less time missed from work and less money paid out in insurance for the company. (Boeing is self-insured, so this is a very direct relationship.) There is a listing of govt. agencies (Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies) which was very helpful. Nat'l Business Partnership to Improve Family Health, a 5yr initiative founded by Dept of Health and Human Resources, was very helpful; contact then was Miriam Jacobsen, director, at 202-408-9324. Also Medela rep very helpful. They would have done an on-site rental program but there wasn't enough demand to justify that.
NCR - Computer (Servers), Retail (POS systems), Financial (ATM systems)
100s
Empty room on mailroom floor with a combination lock. Restroom is across the hall.
Table, 2 chairs, mirror, bulletin board, white board for schedule, dorm room size refrigerator, Lactina pump and an extra one for work-related travel, magazines, clock, phone with internal access only, cleaner, garbage can
Contributes to 'Associate Satisfaction' Doesn't take much time away from work - maybe even less time than smoking breaks??? I can be in and out in about 15 minutes if I have to.
Currently there are 5 of us with 30 minute slots.
Don't know. A group of associates rallied the troops to bring the Santiva (or is it Sanvita?) corporate program to the company. May want to contact them for advice.
I work for a large university in Northern California (UC Davis). They have a breastfeeding program on campus. There are two or three "Lactation stations", unfortunately I work in an off-campus facility where there are none. They offer an orientation class with a LC, then you are 'authorized' to use the rooms. They don't use Medela pumps, but another brand.
I work for Motorola in Ft. Worth Texas. At this location we have a research and development center and also manufacturing facilities for Cellular Infrastructure Equipment. (The things cellular and PCS companies buy and install to provide service.) At this location we have ~1500 employees.
Our designated pumping facility is in our nurses office. Basically what is provided is a private room, a refridgerator, and hot running water. We provide our own pumps. (Everybody currently pumping uses a PIS) There are three of us actively pumping. We have each been issued a key for the facility.
The first person to use the nurses office as a pumping facility works on my development team, and it was about five years ago. Basically all she did was ask the nurse is she could be accomodated upon her return when she was filling our her pre-leave paperwork.
We seem to have been in a mode where the only people who used the facility were the people who asked the nurse. I'm not even sure that HR was aware of the service until recently. The good news is that they're looking into providing an even better room that is outside of the nurses station.
My advice to prospective corporate pumpers is that you never know what might be provided until you ask. For years before I started pumping, there was only a small filing cabinet and a non-confortable chair in the room and when the nurse wasn't in the office, pumping moms had to call a security guard to let them in.
Through casually mentioning things to the nurse, we now have a desk, a rolling "section manager" chair, a telephone, an ethernet drop (for laptop computers), and our own keys. (I think that the nurse was getting tired of me borrowing her phone all the time to return pages that I invaribly receive when I first settle in.) The thing is, I never really expected all these things to be provided, but am absolutely thrilled that they have.
As far as the benefits, my personal experience with pumping is that it enabled me to feel better about going back to work earlier than I would have preferred, as I feel like I am doing something for my baby even when we're apart. I have been back to work for 3 months and I have missed exactly 1 day due to my baby's illness (a fever just above the "daycare can't take her" threshold.)
Now here's the part that will make you drool. We have "on-site" day care, so I am able to nurse my daughter at lunch. (It's not practical for me to nurse her other feedings.) Also, I travel to a Motorola facility in the Chicago area that also has on-site day care, so I take her with me when I travel and nurse her there. I have also investigated the pumping facility in other Motorola facilit and have found them to be pretty comparable to ours here in Ft. Worth.
What MITRE does is to rent two Lactina pumps and provide a room for nursing mothers. The mothers work out the schedule of using the pumps among themselves. We have about 2,000 people at this facility.
Our company pays for 50% for a PIS. This just started so I wasn't part of the program. In our main office I think we have a lactation room. In the smaller offices the lactation consultant just makes sure that there is support for pumping moms. Since I'm a director,and made sure I could pump, the 2 women coming after also will be able to pump. We all have private offices so the main issue was making sure of locks on the door.
here is the condensed version of what my "company" is doing. I work for the Federal Government, so my company is a Defense Department Agency. We have several lactation rooms. Each room has a combination lock on the door, only the pumping Moms get the combo and it changes often. Inside there are 2-3 Medela Classic pumps per room. The Agency has purchased all of the Classics. The rooms have big new sinks, antibacterial hand soap and refrigerators. The Moms provide the dish soap and decorations (we have a big bulletin board with pictures of our babies :-) The Nursing Moms Program is run by volunteers, current or former pumping Moms, each Mom pays $10, the money has been used to purchase several Lactina pumps for use as free loaners when we have to be away from the Agency on business. The Room manager (volunteer) assigns each new Mom a week to clean the room. We have about 22 Moms using my room now. We sign up for slots to pump in 15 minute intervals. Between 8 and 12 people pump per hour using 3 pumps. When the number of Moms is lower, we sometimes go to a 20-minute schedule. Everyone keeps her personal pump parts in hanging on hooks in mesh lingerie bags so things air dry between pumpings. It is a cooperative effort--Moms are flexible about timeslots to accomodate meetings and such. We take turns cleaning and the room stays clean. Respect and flexibility make it work. The benefits to the Agency: much lower absenteeism; Moms return after birthing sooner and more come back full time; morale is good; fewer sick days lost to sick babies (breastfeeding is healthier). I tried to stay condensed! let me know if you want more info.
I work for Motorola in Boynton Bch, Florida. At this location we have a research and development center and also manufacturing facilities for Paging Equipment. At this location we have ~2500 employees.
My designated pumping facility is in our nurses office. Basically what is provided is a private room, and running water. (I am not allowed to put my EBM into the little fridge in that room as I am told by the nurse that it is in the same category a Urine - bodily fluid and an HIV risk :-( I provide my own pump. (Medela PIS) - I pump three times a day at 9.15am, 12.15pm and 3.15pm for a total of 15 mins in the room each time
As far as I know I am the first person to use the nurses office as a pumping facility . Basically all I did was ask the nurse is I could be accomodated upon my return when I was filling our my pre-leave paperwork. (on #3, the last time I used a coworkers closed office for 15 mins twice a day, but although she was very sweet about it, I did feel I was imposing on her day after day, for months on end!!
My advice to prospective corporate pumpers is that you never know what might be provided until you ask.
We also have "on-site" day care at this facility too, so LAST time with #3 I nursed her at lunch, (It's was not practical for me to nurse her other feedings.) . This time around my 2 little ones are not at the on site daycare - no room and for health reasons, I wanted them at home with a baybsitter
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