Advice on labeling a lactation station in a public building...

[guppiegirl]

Hi mamas, I work at a large museum that gets a lot of family visitors and school group tours. Me and one of my coworkers campaigned successfully to get a family restroom with changing table and handicapped accessible features. We also had a visitor nursing station built into one of the women's restrooms. We periodically have women who are at the museum (lots of teachers and women attending workshops) who need a place to pump. While a bathroom is not perfect, it has a stall that latches, a comfortable place to sit (that is not a toilet) and an electrical outlet.

How should we label this space so women can find it easier? Have you seen lactation stations in public buildings? How are they labeled or identified?

I am the first breastfeeding woman to work at the museum in the past +10 years and my bosses have been super accommodating and family friendly. Not only did they hire me at 5 months pregnant, but they gave me a private office space with a locking door and set me up with a mini fridge. I feel confident that other nursing mom coworkers will get similar treatment and won't have to pump in the bathroom.

thanks in advance for any tips on signage for our public nursing/pumping station!

[LaughingHyena]

Do you want it to be dedicated to pumping/feeding? I could see a "family quiet room" being a useful space for a lot of families. I know I've found myself in the baby changing room trying to calm down DS after a tantrum because there is no other quiet space.

Also I would say that whatever you name the room some staff training on how to let people know it's there would be helpful. There is a world of difference between the way I've been informed of feeding rooms, from "there's a room for that you know" in a disgusted tone of voice and our library where the librarian said "just let me know if he's getting to distracted and we can show you a quiet room"

[hildare]

i like "family quiet room" and there's a breastfeeding is welcome here symbol that you can put on the door of the room and other signage.  maybe a changing station sign too?  here's the image of the breastfeeding sign.

can you ask on a museum listserv how others do it?  (that's what i usually fall back on, i hate to reinvent something other people have already figured out) 

how wonderful for you all that this is happening!

[Lisa85]

When I worked for a large company, we had "Mother's Rooms" in each of the restrooms.  You walk in the same door as you would to the women's restroom, and to the right was the bathroom facilities and through a curtain on the left was the "Mother's Room" It had a mini fridge, a few magazines and a 2-3 chairs with a small end table next to each.  It was also equipped with a small sink, plenty of outlets, and dimmer switch on the light.  The only con was the door did not lock and was clearly meant for use by multiple women at the same time.  I never worked there after I had my baby, but it's not something that would bother me.

[hildare]

lisa85, that sounds sweet, but... in our case, my dh is much more likely to be the person out and about with the babes and looking for a changing station etc.  that's one reason i like the idea of a "family" room, yk?  <3

[crunchy_mommy]

I like Family Quiet Room, although I feel like it's missing something, not sure that it's 100% clear what its purpose is??

Regardless of what you call it, I like when I see signs posted throughout a building that say something to the effect of,

"You are welcome to breastfeed or bottlefeed anywhere in the building. There is also a Family Quiet Room available behind the second floor restrooms for feeding, pumping, and baby care."

I always feel like the presence of a nursing room implies you HAVE to nurse there, so this kind of signage makes it clear that it's just an option.

[jessjgh1]

Very well said crunchy_mommy   I also like a sign that reinforces that breastfeeding is okay everywhere and that the room is available for those that want/need to use it.

Jessica

[Anna Phor]

I think the purpose (and the users) of a "Family Room" are a bit different from a lactation room though. I'm thinking especially of moms who want privacy to nurse or particularly to pump. I would not want to share the room I was pumping in with a dad who was changing a diaper. 

[guppiegirl]

Thanks for the input so far! I guess I should have clarified that there are actually 2 rooms. One room is a unisex family bathroom with a changing table. It is a single bathroom with a locking door and is also handicapped accessible. We wanted to set up a nursing in this room, but there was not enough space.

The other space is in a women's restroom and it is a large stall that locks, has a bench and electrical outlet. It is primarily for pumping or for moms who want some quiet and privacy. We get a lot of teachers who are on long field trips or women attending workshops who need to pump. Women are welcome to nurse wherever they want, but I live in a super conservative state and never see anyone else doing it...

[Adaline'sMama]

I say just label it Lactation Station. Ive only been to two, one was awesome, and one was silly and kind of made me feel like I wasnt welcome to nurse anywhere else. The latter was also sponsered by the OB department of a hospital, so that might by why it wasnt as friendly feeling as the first. The first one was labeled " Lactation Station" and had a picture of the breastfeeding logo. The second was labeled "Mother's Room" and had a picture of a stork with a baby in its beak.

[crunchy_mommy]

Yeah I think in that case, Lactation Station would make the most sense since it's really just for pumping. Include the breastfeeding symbol like Holly suggested. I would still make it clear through signage that it is OK to nurse anywhere in the building.

Will this room have anything else to make it feel more welcoming? I think that since it's in a bathroom, it would be great if you could go all out to make it a more pleasant space... some posters on the wall, maybe, and a stack of magazines, maybe use curtains and fresh flowers to soften the space and have some bottles of water in a basket?