Portland State recognizes World Breastfeeding Week

Last Thursday kicked off World Breastfeeding Week, and Portland State recognized it by unveiling the new Medela Symphony breast pump in the Smith Memorial Student Union lactation room last Friday.

“This is arguably the best breast pump out there as far as how much it’s talked up by lactation consultants,” said Jenni Seven, a lactation and child care specialist at the Resource Center for Students with Children. “It’s a closed pumping system, which means it’s completely safe…It actually is known to help women to increase production…so it will be able to help keep a lot of moms breastfeeding while attending school.”

“Support” is the theme of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week.

“People are trying to emphasize the need for support and the ways that people can support breastfeeding mothers,” Seven said. “And the ways that breastfeeding mothers can support themselves by taking care of themselves.”

Seven couldn’t say exactly how many breastfeeding mothers there are on campus, but she noted that about one-fifth of PSU’s student body are parents.

“I can say with confidence that there’s someone in [the lactation room in] Smith usually multiple times a day,” she said.

There are currently seven lactation rooms around campus, and each has a lock with a security code available at the RCSC for mothers to pick up.

“We want to be sure that no matter where a student is on campus, there is a place for them, within a reasonable distance, so that they can pump if they need to before, during or after class,” said Carrie Cohen, a PSU professor who teaches “Current Issues in Pregnancy and Birth”—the capstone course that first discovered the need for better lactation spaces on campus.

In addition to needing a passcode to get into the lactation spaces, most include chairs, fridges, changing tables and other convenient things for breastfeeding mothers.

“One of the things that really helps moms, whether they are students or employees, is to have a private, safe and comfortable location where they can pump,” Cohen said. “Someplace where they can relax, because being able to relax and feel safe and private helps with the milk gland reflex and enables them to pump successfully, sometimes within a short period of time.”

Using most breast pumps available today involves carrying around a bulky bag full of equipment. The new Symphony breast pump in Smith is considered a multi-user pump. It holds the main mechanism, while mothers have access to the individual accessory kits.

The RCSC currently has a limited number of kits to give away for free to students.

The regular retail price for the accessory kits is $52.99, and they occasionally go on sale on retail websites like Amazon. If the RCSC’s supply of free kits runs out, students may be able to work with the RCSC to get kits from the Nursing Mothers Council of Oregon for a discounted price.

The money for the purchase and installation of the Symphony pump and extra kits came from a budget increase for the RCSC last year.

Seven said there was a big push from the student body to expand the resources available to student parents, and part of that increase was used for the breast pumps.

“[If] it’s really successful and people love it, then we need them to step up and speak up if they want more,” Seven said. “We really just need to hear from parents [about] what they need, what they want and what they are going to demand from their school.”