How to Improve a Courthouse Lactation Room in 5 Easy Steps
By: Nicole Gehringer & Lyndsey Siara
A South Florida lawmaker introduced legislation which would require Florida courthouses to provide lactation spaces. Senator Lori Berman filed SB 196 with an eye towards improving the quality of life for women entering Florida’s courthouse facilities. Her efforts reinvigorate our passion and provide a shining example for other states to follow. Nearly four years after opening two lactation rooms at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse in Tampa, Florida, we reflect on the experience and offer five ways to improve a courthouse lactation room. These are lessons learned along the way or picked up in retrospect after ruminating on our experience and then consulting with the Florida Association for Women Lawyers (FAWL) Courthouse Lactation Room Task Force. FAWL aims is to promote gender equality in the legal profession and community at large, and advocates for reforms in laws which help achieve its mission. If your local courthouse does not yet have a lactation room, we encourage you to first read our sister article “How to Open a Courthouse Lactation Room in 10 Easy Steps” and then lead the charge to open one in your area. If your local courthouse already has a lactation room, this article is poignant for you! Here are five tips for improving it:
1. Advertise on the courthouse website.
Women need to know that the courthouse lactation room exists. Inquire with the Chief Judge and/or Trial Court Administrator in your circuit about posting an advertisement on the circuit’s website and the circuit’s social media outlets. This could be as simple as uploading a copy of the flyer that is posted around the courthouse advertising its existence. Most important, include information about the exact location of the room(s) and any instructions for using the room. Having this information accessible allows a woman to better prepare prior to her arrival at the courthouse. This ensures a more positive experience by reducing the stress of uncertainty regarding where she might nurse or pump breast milk.
“It’s stressful to travel outside your home when you’re pumping,” confirms nursing mother Alex Palermo. And when women are stressed about where they will pump while out in public, one devastating consequence can be poor milk output. “When I know where I’ll pump, it calms my nerves, and allows me to produce the milk I need for my little one,” says Palermo. When information about lactation rooms in not readily available, some women may relegate themselves to pumping in undesirable locations such as bathrooms or cars. “It can be uncomfortable for a woman to approach a male bailiff to ask about pumping accommodations; some women won’t ask,” explains Palermo. The information should be readily available so no woman has to face a situation of choosing between an uncomfortable ask or pumping somewhere she shouldn’t have to.
2. Add the room to the Mamava app.
Over two years after opening the lactation rooms in our courthouse, we learned about the Mamava app. This app allows a person to conduct location-based searches for spaces to pump or breastfeed. Adding your courthouse lactation room to Mamava along with a few pictures is quick and easy. FAWL’s Courthouse Lactation Room Task Force can also help with this charge.
3. Collect data.
This is probably the biggest opportunity for improvement. In consulting with the FAWL Courthouse Lactation Room Task Force, we learned that most existing courthouse lactation rooms do not collect usage data, which is a missed opportunity to continue our efforts to support breastfeeding women. The data can be shared with lawmakers like Senator Berman in support of their statewide advocacy efforts. Locally, the data can give decision-makers like firm and Bar leaders information to support lactation spaces in the private sector.
All lactation rooms should collect basic data including: (1) the number of total times the room is used; (2) the category of person using the room (i.e., attorney, courthouse personnel, juror, general public); and (3) the number of users, because as you may realize, the same woman could use the room multiple times each day.
If data collection can be done electronically, go that route to allow for easier analysis of data. A shared electronic Excel spreadsheet would work. There are also more advanced keypad systems that can be used to collect this information, if such a locking mechanism is feasible in your circuit. Consider a system that allows for easy output of usage data. Be cognizant of privacy considerations. If it is necessary to obtain information such as the user’s name and a form of identification, implement measures to ensure the confidentiality of that information.
Data does not tell the full story though. Testimonials from women who have benefited from using the lactation room provides a more complete picture of the value of lactation spaces. To collect these invaluable personal testaments, consider creating a short satisfaction survey that can be filled out while utilizing the room. Each user has a valuable story to tell about the critical role the lactation room has in their breastfeeding or pumping journey.
The combination of hard data and personal testimonials can provide a compelling narrative for advocating for additional lactation rooms or the continued need for existing rooms. Where there are competing needs or uses for space, having the hard and soft data to back up the request for a lactation room may make all the difference between opening or not. While we applaud Senator Berman’s legislation, the message we are conveying extends beyond just courthouse lactation rooms. In recent years, there has been much more discussion around this topic, and there is greater consideration of lactation spaces at legal functions such as The Florida Bar Exam (pictured) and The Florida Bar Annual Convention, as well as non-legal venues such as professional sporting events, airports, and concerts. We need the data to continue this momentum in both the public and private sectors.
4. Upgrade aesthetics.
Consider undertaking aesthetic upgrades to improve the offerings of your courthouse lactation room. First, let us be clear: Any clean, private, and secure space is better than none, but we like to consider the good, better, and best options with the aesthetics of a courthouse lactation room. The most basic “good” options are mentioned above—clean, private, and secure. A chair and a flat surface to place pumping parts are needed, as well as an electrical outlet to power a breast pump. “Better” accommodations include a large comfy chair, an ottoman to put your feet up and warm lighting. Some “best” category improvements might include an in-room sink, a relaxing paint color on the walls along with calming artwork, a sound machine, and other niceties such as pump wipes and extra milk storage bags. If you implement the post-use survey mentioned above, this may also be a good way to gather other suggestions.
Aesthetics matter for reasons beyond just visual. “When I am comfortable in the space—relaxed and calm—I can pump with ease,” explains Palermo. “But when the room is uninviting, in a noisy area, or untidy, I have a difficult time relaxing enough to produce enough milk to feed my son.”
To fund these improvements, consider presenting a proposal to your local FAWL chapter, or contact local firms that may be interested in the project. If the room is not already dedicated, you could offer the opportunity of naming or dedicating the room as a thank you for assisting with improvements. You could also involve the larger community by creating an Amazon Wish List. Donors could be recognized on a plaque near or inside the room. We also suggest tickling your calendar at least once a year to check on the physical conditions of the room: Is it clean? Is it inviting? Is there damage that needs repair? If no one else is doing so, inaugurate yourself as the stewardess of the room. Many women will appreciate your efforts.
5. Publicize, publicize, publicize.
As mentioned throughout this article, people must know that the courthouse lactation rooms exist. Take every opportunity to publicize. As a starting point, consider the anniversary of the opening of the room to remind the local community about your circuit’s lactation room. Other notable options are Women’s History Month (March), Mother’s Day (May), and World Breastfeeding Week (August)—all celebrations with a natural tie-in to lactation rooms. Step Four above would also provide the perfect opportunity to reinvigorate the conversation around lactation rooms in your area. A re-dedication or upgraded paint/artwork are perfect ways to re-highlight the rooms at your local courthouse. Remember to use the data and testimonials from Step Three to showcase the volume of usage, the variety of individuals who use the room, and the impact it has had on women’s breastfeeding journeys.
When it comes to publicizing, consider local and broader audiences. Locally, we suggest inquiring with your bar association if it has a regular publication. Affinity bar associations such as the local chapter of FAWL may be interested in publicizing information about lactation rooms to its members. Even local news outlets are often looking for community news pieces such as this. Beyond your local community, consider contacting your state bar for possible publication in one of their many media outlets. When we opened the courthouse lactation rooms in our circuit, one of our local Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division governors even wrote a blog post about our efforts and tied it in with her experience of pumping at work. Two years after opening, we published an update in The Florida Bar YLD’s Local Affiliate Spotlight.
With local effort and statewide advocacy by lawmakers like Senator Berman, it is our hope that every courthouse in Florida will soon boast a lactation space. This progress will continue paving a path for breastfeeding accommodations in both the public and private sectors throughout the country.
About the Authors:
Lyndsey Siara is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Tampa, Florida. A judicial staff attorney for almost ten years, Lyndsey works closely with four Circuit Civil Division judges conducting legal research, advising and counseling on a variety of legal issues, and drafting proposed orders and memoranda of law. Lyndsey is married and has two daughters.
Nicole Gehringer is an associate attorney at Harris, Hunt & Derr, P.A. in Tampa, Florida practicing exclusively marital and family law. Her practice includes alternative dispute processes, such as mediation and collaborative divorce, with traditional litigation. Nicole is married and has two young children.