I work at a large university in Massachusetts, and students are able to bring babies to classes. They cannot take babies into labs (research labs, with chemicals, etc). Although we don't have an "official" policy, the administration includes people who have voiced the opinion that babies should not be prohibited from lectures and any professor/lecturer who protested would be spoken to by the powers that be. Its not been a problem in the dozen or so years I've worked here, so -- although we had talked about having an official policy-- we've never written one.
My heart goes out to the student moms who "do it all." The first time a student mom came to me and said she was returning to classes when her baby was two weeks old I could not believe breastfeeding would survive. I've been proven wrong, and over the years I've seen many young women "make it work." Some are blessed with parents who come and stay in student housing with them; others juggle baby care with their partners. I've even had a few single student moms who have made it on their own. When I hear their plans I often joke with them that "you've always been an overachiever, haven't you!"
I keep a list of student moms who have successfully combined matriculation with breastfeeding, and they volunteer to act as peer counselors for new moms facing the same challenges.
One of the biggest surprises to me was how sympathetic many professors are to breastfeeding women. I recently had a woman come to me worried about speaking to her (male) advisor, whom she anticipated would be negative about her having her baby in the office to breastfeed, or taking time to pump. Instead of being difficult, the man shared his experiences of having manufactured a breastpump for his wife. It turned out the guy has six kids and is "breastfeeding literate."
If women are concerned about taking a baby to class I advise them to speak to the professor/lecturer in advance. I think that, as long as the professor understands that the baby will not disrupt the lecture, and that the student is willing to leave if the baby is noisy, things should work out.
I haven't followed this entire thread. Are there others who work for "baby friendly" colleges? If so, maybe we should collaborate so that those colleges who are not as friendly can get a clue.
Margery Wilson, IBCLC
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
>>> [log in to unmask] 05/10/02 11:01PM >>>
It is my opinion that if a child or baby is quiet, and well mannered, that
there is no reason they can't be in a college classroom. I'd like to see a
country that makes children welcome (taking children out who need other
mothering, care, or wiggle room)...in all places. Kathleen
At 12:07 PM 05/10/2002 -0500, you wrote:
> I whole
>heartedly support the mom's right to nurse on a college campus. But, infants
>and children are not allowed to attend classes. I am more than willing to
>make as much exception to this as possible up to the point of having the
>child in the classroom.
Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet, Indep. Consultant
http://together.net/~kbruce/kbbspin.html
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