Finding a balance

Let’s create an inclusive atmosphere for lactating university student mothers

Why should a mother have to choose between the demanding standards of academics and motherhood?

One of the main reasons why women report breastfeeding cessation is due to pursuing higher education. Mothers find it too difficult to balance both breastfeeding their child and meeting the demands of their university curriculum.

In 2014, Statistics Canada reported astonishing low initiation rates for breastfeeding, with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador having the lowest. The substantial health benefits of breastfeeding for the mother and child have been well established. Breastfeeding advocacy has been circulating in recent years, however university student mothers are still faced with challenging environments breastfeeding on campus.

Universities must alleviate some of the pressures placed on student mothers.

Almost immediately after having their child, they may have to return to studies. They may choose to return or they could feel obligated due to potential loss of their program seat or to receive any scholarships or funding they may have. Additionally, health professionals often place pressure on mothers to reach six months and beyond of breastfeeding. Student mothers are faced with the conflicting responsibilities of their academic career and motherhood. This confliction places immense pressure and stress on the mother.

• Inclusive atmosphere — Formal policies and initiatives differ significantly across the country, depending on provinces and universities. However, there are no clear, well-advertised policies in place to ensure breastfeeding student mothers are comfortable and successful on campuses. There is a need for such policies, which have clear details on available supports and ease of access for mothers.

• Creating a supportive environment — I know the difficulty of breastfeeding on a Canadian campus. From speaking with other mothers and from my own experience, the major requests to creating an inclusive environment include a child care facility on campus, adequate spaces for breastfeeding and pumping milk, and advocacy in the student body and lactation support programs.

• Child care — many universities argue they are “babyfriendly,” or support lactation among student mothers on campus, but yet nationally many universities do not have child care facilities that accept infants.

If a mother is exclusively breastfeeding her child, but the child is not on-site or nearby, then how is she supposed to do so? It is one thing to claim you support a practice, but if you do not provide the proper physical support, then the claim means nothing.

• Private space — breastfeeding in public has become widespread and is largely accepted. However, pumping in public still turns up a few noses when people are faced with it. Mothers may also be sensitive to pumping in public. For the comfort of the mother, lactation rooms should be conveniently located across campuses. Since child care is often not available until the child turns two, mothers depending on pumping to nourish their child and maintain a milk supply during long hours away. In order for women to effectively pump, they must have a sterile, private space and access to refrigeration for milk storage.

• Social support — university student mothers often report social isolation as a barrier to their breastfeeding success. Regardless of how determined and committed a mother may be on her breastfeeding venture, without sufficient social support she may fall short. There should be structured lactation and breastfeeding support programs available at all universities across Canada that are consistent, regardless of the province or university. They should provide a welcoming and supportive atmosphere, connecting mothers together to support one another.

• Impact and future implications — with more women deciding to have children while establishing their careers, the accessibility of Canadian universities for potential breastfeeding student mothers is important to the future health of Canadians. It should be the universities’ goal to support women, including mothers, on their journey to higher education. Failure to do so can result in the loss of new mothers in university, reduced productivity and lost human potential.

In order for the productivity growth of Canada to be continued, there needs to be support given to the different life cycles of individuals and development of good policy solutions.

Hannah Buckle St. John’s