What is a lactation room?
A lactation room provides a private place where employees may nurse babies or pump breast milk to take home for later use.
Why have lactation rooms?
Lactation rooms provide support for women who choose to continue breastfeeding when they return to work.
Benefits of Breastfeeding
For Mom
- Fewer missed days of work as breastfed babies are healthier
- Lowers a mother's risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and ovarian and breast cancer
- Saves money in the family budget
For Baby
- Lowers a baby's risk for asthma, obesity, and type 1 diabetes
- Reduced incidences of ear, gastrointestinal, and respiratory infections
- Fewer allergies
- Protects against sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
For the Department
- Less time off used by breastfeeding employees since their babies will be healthier
- Less staff turnover; a working mother who can successfully continue to breastfeed will be happier with her job
- Saves health care dollars as breastfeed babies have fewer doctor visits and are admitted to the hospital less often
Lactation Rooms on the Capitol Complex
There are ten lactation rooms available for use on the Capitol Complex and at 6200 Park Ave.
The rooms are located at:
- Capitol
- Grimes
- Hoover (2 rooms)
- Lucas (4 rooms)
- Public Safety
- Wallace (2 rooms)
- Workforce Development
- Outside of the Capitol Complex - 6200 Park Ave Building
Contacts for the Grimes, Hoover and Wallace and 6200 Park Ave Buildings
To schedule a lactation room in the Grimes, Hoover, or Wallace Buildings, or 6200 Park Ave contact DAS-HRE.
Email: custserv.hre@iowa.gov
Alternate Email: Employee.Benefits@iowa.gov
Contact for the Lucas Building
Designated lactation rooms are located at:
- Lucas State Office Building, Ground floor, LG13
- Lucas State Office Building, Ground floor, LG23
- Lucas State Office Building, Ground floor, LG56
- Lucas State Office Building, 5th floor, LG558 (HHS Employees Only)
Reservation Process for Lucas Building:
- Employees, interns, contractors and visitors may reserve lactation rooms via wall schedulers located outside each room.
- Employees or interns and contractors with an HHS email may use Microsoft Calendar Scheduling to schedule lactation room reservations.
- Search Lactation when scheduling a room and select the appropriate location to reserve.
Questions can be directed to HR@hhs.iowa.gov.
Contact for the Capitol
Meghan Nelson
515-281-5383
meghan.nelson@legis.iowa.gov
Contact for Department of Public Safety Building
515-725-6253
Contact for Ola Babcock Miller
515-281-6766
*Badge access required. Please confirm access when reserving.
Contact for Iowa Workforce Development
515-281-7023
Resources
If you are a nursing mother with questions about lactation, contact the WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator at the Iowa Department of Public Health.
Nicole Newman, RD, LD, CLC
515-322-3759
Nicole.Newman@idph.iowa.gov