Lactation Spaces

You can breastfeed your baby on campus in any location you are “otherwise authorized to be” – this means you are welcome to breastfeed in any public campus location. If you prefer more privacy, you can use the UAA Mamava Lactation Pod located in the Student Union, or any of the spaces available to express milk on campus.

In 2017, the University of Alaska Anchorage received an Alaska Workplace Breastfeeding Support Project grant from the State of Alaska's Division of Public Health's Section on Women's, Children's, and Family Health to improve resources for and policies around breastfeeding on campus. Through this grant, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs sponsored the placement of a Mamava Lactation Pod in the Student Union and scholarships to create other lactation spaces on campus. 

Spaces available for lactating on campus

• Student Union: The UAA Mamava Lactation Pod is located in the Student Union at the bottom of the stairs near the bookstore. The code for the pod is available at the Student Union Information Desk.
• Consortium Library: Study rooms at the UAA/APU Consortium Library can be reserved in advance or accessed as a walk-in – ask at the Circulation Desk, email Lorelei Sterling (lsterling@alaska.edu) or call (907) 786-1827.
• School of Nursing: Located within the RRANN suite, HSB 105B. Easily accessible M-F 8-5. This door locks automatically when closed so please leave it open as you leave. Contact RaLyssa Harris, RRANN Coordinator, at (907)786-6944 or rntaylor@alaska.edu if you have questions.
• Employees may also negotiate the use of other private, non-bathroom spaces screened from view with their supervisor or the UAA Human Resources Department. These spaces will meet the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act rules about break time for nursing mothers. See "Fact Sheet #73: Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the FLSA" (pdf).

Other options for pumping or breastfeeding

We recognize campus is large and time to pump is scarce – if you are unable to access the spaces suggested on this page, employees should speak with their supervisors and students should speak with their professors about accessing a closer space. Students may also request support by contacting the Dean of Students Office who will help them find an acceptable convenient location. If supervisors or professors are not able to provide a space, we suggest reaching out to the building manager who may have additional spaces available. See this list of building managers.

UAA and State Policy regarding breastfeeding

UAA policy for employee lactation

There is an official Lactation Accommodation Policy in the Administrative Services Manual maintained by the Human Resources Department. Contact the UAA Human Resources Department to learn more.

UAA policy for student lactation

There is no policy about students pumping or breastfeeding. We encourage students to request the flexibility they need to pump and make use of the lactation spaces available on campus. If a student needs assistance with this, they may contact our office directly.

Alaska Law: Breastfeeding in Public

Alaska Statute 29.25.080 Breastfeeding (1998) declares that “a municipality may not enact an ordinance that prohibits or restricts a woman breast-feeding a child in a public or private location where the woman and child are otherwise authorized to be. In a municipal ordinance, “lewd conduct,” “lewd touching,” “immoral conduct,” “indecent conduct,” and similar terms do not include the act of a woman breast-feeding a child in a public or private location where the woman and child are otherwise authorized to be. Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize an act that is an offense under a municipal ordinance that establishes an offense with elements substantially equivalent to the elements of an offense under AS 11.61.123. This section is applicable to home rule and general law municipalities.”