February 8, 2007

For working mothers, a place of their own

Nursing mothers on the Evanston campus now have the comfort and privacy of two spaces that have been designated for their use.

One mothers’ room is located at the Rebecca Crown Center, on the south end of campus, and the other at the Arthur and Gladys Pancoe-Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Life Sciences Pavilion, at the north end. A third mothers’ room, located on the Chicago campus, is in the planning stages.

“We’re delighted to be able to offer to nursing mothers in the University a private and clean location for lactation when returning to work,” said Katie Krauch, Work Life, Child and Family Resources Manager. “This is often a challenging transition for women, and our goal is to make their role as new mothers as comfortable and convenient as possible.”

Both rooms are available to nursing mothers by appointment and can be reserved using the book that is located inside each of the rooms. Users will be issued a key for long-term or daily use.

The newly opened south campus room, with comfortable furniture and lighting, is adjacent to the women’s restroom in the lower level of Rebecca Crown Center. A dreamlike abstract floral mural on one of the walls was hand-painted by Northwestern alumna Heather Hollenbeck, a recent Master of Fine Arts graduate, and a new mother herself. Keys to Crown Center’s mothers’ room are issued in the South Tower of Crown, second floor, Room 2-210 or by contacting Claire Repsold at (847) 491-5534 or at c-repsold@northwestern.edu.

The north campus mothers’ room at the Pancoe-ENH Pavilion is located in Room 1-410. Keys are issued in the Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology (BMBCB) office in Hogan Hall, Room 2-100, or by calling the BMBCB office at (847) 491-5061.

Questions or feedback about the “mothers’ room” facilities should be directed to Katie Krauch in the Work/Life, Child and Family Resource Office at (312) 503-6631 or e-mail k-krauch@northwestern.edu.