Setting Up Your Own Personal Lactation Room

Unless you work in a super working-mom-friendly environment (and if you do, kudos to you and your employer!), it’s not likely that there will be a dedicated lactation room for you to use your breast pump each day or breastfeed your child, if that’s ever an option. So, you’ll need to set up a clean, somewhat comfortable spot that can easily be brought back to its normal condition.

Here’s what I suggest for a portable lactation location (ha!):

- A private location – this could be anywhere from a private office or conference room, the ladies’ room or even a closet or other small room; you’ll just want a private location that allows you to shut the door a few times each day and keep interruptions to a minimum. If you’re at a loss for where you could pump in private, talk with your boss about finding an appropriate makeshift lactation room; I know of a “cubicle-dweller” who borrowed an understanding co-worker’s private office – they just worked out their schedules so that they could trade places for a little while every day.

- Handy power outlets – some breast pumps come with battery-operated power sources for the motor, but I’ve found that these typically don’t work very well. Try to find a nearby outlet to plug in your motor.

- Clean hands – make sure to wash your hands immediately before touching anything that will come in contact with your milk; or, if you’re not near a sink, squirt some hand sanitizer into your hands before getting started.

- A flat surface – this will be necessary for assembling the bottles and pumping accessories, both before and after you have pumped. The last thing you want is to set down an uncapped bottle of hard-earned freshly pumped milk (or two bottles, if you’re double-pumping), only to have it topple over from an uneven surface!

- A clean surface – remember those cleaning wipes I mentioned in my article on packing your breast pump for work? They come in handy here too, as do just about any disinfecting wipe; just wipe down where you’re planning to set down your bottles and accessories, so that they stay germ-free. Some breast pumps come with their own clean surface – my Medela breast pump came with a plastic “work surface” that I set down on a tray that pulls out of my desk. (Neat, huh?)

- A comfortable place to sit – you’re hunched over and your body’s doing quite a lot of work, so you’ll want to make sure you’re at least somewhat comfortable, whether it’s an office chair or a pillow on the floor. Plus, being relaxed helps you let down sooner and produce more milk.

- Tissues or napkins – helpful for wiping extra milk off your breasts once you’ve finished pumping, so that you don’t end up with milk droplets on your clothes.

- Reading material or an MP3 player – not truly necessary for the pumping process, but if you’re anything like me, you can’t stand to sit still for that amount of time and not have something to do. Bringing along a good book or trashy magazine for your own little lactation room also gives you a chance to slip in a little “me” time, which feels especially good when you’re also doing something wonderful for your baby!

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