Experiences and Perceptions of Women Who Used a Nursing Mothers' Room in a University Setting

Breastfeeding women who return to work or school after short maternity leaves are vulnerable to early weaning. Private spaces for breast milk expression are essential for these women and required by The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The aims of this study were to: (1) describe experiences of women who used a NMR on a university campus; (2) determine women's perceptions of how their NMR use affected their breastfeeding duration, and (3) describe infants' percentage of mother's milk to all milk intake at 3 and 6 months. In November 2011 we sent the 91 women who began using the NMR in 2008 through 2010 an email inviting them to participate in a web-based survey; 84 women still had valid university email addresses and 43 responded to the survey. Participants were mostly graduate students and staff from six schools in the health sciences. Women began using the NMR when their infants were 2 to 68 weeks (M = 12.93; SD = 13.32) and stopped using it when their infants were 8 to 82 weeks (M = 44.90; SD = 18.50). Infants were completely weaned when they were 19 to 140 weeks (M = 56.30; SD = 28.02). Most respondents perceived that using the NMR increased their total breastfeeding duration “a whole lot” (52%) or “somewhat” (24%). Most also perceived that using the NMR increased their duration of exclusive breastfeeding “a whole lot” (54%) or “somewhat” (27%). At 3 months 81% of the infants were receiving 100% mother's milk; between 5 and 6 months 58% were. Most of the women who participated in this survey were very successful in combining breastfeeding with school or work. Most will be working in health care in the future where they may influence other women to have similarly successful experiences.