Student Mothers Choose Between Education, Children and Well-Being

Citrus College does not provide a lactation room to accommodate students, professors and staff members that are new mothers.

Public two-year colleges are reported by The Institute For Women’s Policy Research to enroll the largest share of student-parents totaling 30 percent of the total community college body, yet healthy lactation accommodations for new mothers is not always available.

Breast pumping and breastfeeding in public is not a convenient option, due to the social stigma society expresses.

Breast pumping is a women’s health matter. When a woman’s breasts are full, it can be painful and cause engorgement. Breastfeeding USA states that pumping can relieve the pain.

“You can’t even concentrate, ‘cause the pain is really hard to deal with,” said Marilou Martinez, 28, an administration of justice and correctional science major.

Being unable to breastfeed or pump routinely can produce engorgements that could lead to mastitis.

Mastitis is a bacterial infection with symptoms including fever, breast swelling, skin redness and pain or a continuous burning sensation while breastfeeding, states the Mayo Clinic.     

It can also affect the amount of milk a woman produces, disrupting the baby’s feeding cycle.

“So that’s another issue, too. Your body is not going to make as much, just ‘cause you are not constantly feeding your baby or pumping it out,” Martinez said.

California Assembly Bill 2785 states that California Community Colleges and California State Universities are required to give access to a private and secure room for lactation. The accommodations must be implemented no later than Jan 1, 2020.

“I’m sure we comply with all federal and state laws … When you build a facility like (the Health Center), it has to meet specific requirements before you can get the permit to build it,” said Dean of Students Dr. Maryann Tolano-Leveque.   

Citrus no longer has designated lactation accommodations. Vice President of Student Services Dr. Martha McDonald did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.

“A student who is just out of high school and still choosing to pay to go to this college should get a little support. [My] counselor also said that if I couldn’t manage it, then the program or Citrus isn’t for me,” said Samantha Lopez, 18, a nursing major.

Lactating students must be provided a reasonable amount of time to breastfeed or pump. Private, sanitary and convenient lactation accommodations should be available whenever a student is on campus.

“At the end of it all, feeding my daughter is what is more important to me than how someone feels about me pumping,” said Lopez.

Others struggle to adapt without any designated area meant for feeding and pumping.  

“Wake up a bit earlier, do it before you come to school, then you have to limit your classes,” Martinez said. “‘Cause I don’t really see where you can do that on campus unless you go to the restroom. That is very unsanitary.”

Faculty tries to aid student mothers individually in order to accommodate their needs while the administration finds a formal solution.  

“(A student) almost dropped out of college because of it,” said Shelley Hanh of the Child Development, Social and Behavioral Sciences department. “When (Sam Lee, Dean of Language Arts, pulled) through finding a location for her pumping, it actually encouraged her to be able to stay in school.”

CalWORKS is the only program on campus that specifically provides student-parent support with a support group available exclusively for those eligible.

The county program provides advice, information and tips on a variety of topics related to parenting over the semester. They even provide their offices for feeding or pumping student mothers.

“It’s a safe place if they want to come in to breastfeed their child,” Lelaine Arredondo, a CalWORKS counselor said. “We can create that space for them.”

These CalWORKS installations are available for CalWORKS students alone. To be part of the program, you must be a parent referred by the county receiving services such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Mother of a 7-year-old and business major Rita Ramirez, 31, said that the program’s eligibility requirements do not allow all student-parents to have access to the information it freely provides.

“I have never seen any other way of getting that information to students,” said Ramirez.

Those ineligible for the program are left with few resources.

“Everybody here is young, and you don’t want to be sitting and just start pumping out your milk,” said Marilou Martinez, 28, an administration of justice and correctional science major. “People are going to be like, what is this person doing?”

The only private places mothers on campus have to pump or anything related are their cars, campus medical rooms or athletic locker rooms.

“If you think about it, some moms don’t drive themself to school, so they have no choice (and) have to pump wherever they are,” said Lopez.

The Health Center in the Student Services building provides medical rooms that can be used for breastfeeding and pumping.

“If there isn’t anyone using any of the rooms … they can allow a nursing mother in to breastfeed,” Tolano-Leveque said.

Breastfeeding or breast pumping needs to be in a safe and sanitary area that works with the mother’s schedule.

“They will only let you use them if the room is unoccupied. What are the chances of you even getting a chance to sit there and pump your milk?” said Martinez. “‘Cause what if you have a class or something, and you have to be late to your class.”

Many mothers do not know about the breastfeeding and pumping services the Health Center provides, or feel it is not sanitary enough to breastfeed.

“I’ve never heard of the medical room being an option,” Lopez said. “When I originally talked to the counselors at Citrus, I asked about childcare and where I could pump and they said they don’t provide either.”

Ramirez feels the Health Center would be a “terrible” to feed or pump because it is a medical room where sick students are treated.

“There was no help here. There was no daycare. There was nothing here, so I had to drop out,” Martinez said.

Citrus College used to have a child care program available for students, faculty, staff and even community members.

It provided parenting education, covering “how to discipline their kids, child learning style or nutrition cooking,” said Hanh.

The old service had a variety of programs for children of different ages with the purpose of taking care of children in the Citrus College community, also providing a space where mothers could breastfeed and breast pump in peace in the nap room.

“If Citrus has a childcare program, it would be a little easier to go to school and breastfeed, since that’s what I want to do,” said Lopez.

The program was closed due to a lack of funds from the state and federal government during the 2008 recession.

“It was a tough decision because it meant so much to many people, but it was using so much of our reserve,” Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Arvid Spor said.

Maintaining the program required around $600,000 a year from the general funding reserve.

“The infant center was a model program. There was only six or seven, I think, through the state of California that got the privilege to be called (a) demonstrated program,”  said Lakisha Simpson from the Faculty, Child Development, and Behavioral Sciences department.

“(People came) from all over– different countries, different states–  all over, to see how they implemented the response of care approach,” she continued.

Cynthia Cross, a professor of English as a second language, said it was convenient and worth it. Students were able to receive discounted rates while faculty paid full price for the child care program.

“Just a sanitary, private place will be a great thing. I know that’s a big issue; why moms end up having to drop out of school because they have to breastfeed their kids,” Martinez said.

“You are always going to choose your kid.”