Edmonds Community College Offers Room for Breast-Feeding Student Moms

New moms who are students at Edmonds Community College no longer have to hide in a bathroom or in their cars to make sure their babies are fed.

Edmonds Community College has opened a lactation room in Brier Hall 246, where student-moms can feed their babies in private or pump breast milk, according to a college news release.

According to the news release, former Edmonds Community College student Kristina Madden spearheaded the effort to get a lactation room, attending college as a breastfeeding mom and working mother of three. She is now a nursing student at the University of Washington.

“It was important to me to know I was continuing to give my child the best nutrition as well as helping keep both of us healthy. It was also an important way for me to stay connected to my child through a rough transition back to school,” Madden said in a prepared statement.

Madden worked with student leaders and the college’s Center for Student Engagement and Leadership on the project.

Madden said she also made it part of her academics at Edmonds Community College, by studying the immunobiology of breast milk in her honors classes and earned a prestigious national scholarship. She also worked as a breastfeeding peer counselor for WIC.

Also supporting the new college lactation room is the Snohomish Health District Breastfeeding Coordinator Lily Sheremeta.

“Having a quiet, comfortable place to breastfeed or pump helps student moms, and gives babies a healthy start in life,” Sheremeta said in a prepared statement.

Allowing student-moms space to breastfeed their children is good for their education as well, she said.

“Breastfed babies get sick less often, which means fewer missed classes and better education for student moms,” Sheremeta said.

Thirty-three percent of students at Edmonds Community College have children in their care. The college serves more than 20,000 students annually, according to the college.

What do you think? Do you think this is a good accomodation for moms who are in college? Tell us in the comments.