Lactation Rooms

Duke provides  18 lactation rooms for faculty and staff to support women balancing their return to work with their needs as mothers of young children. Each room offers a clean, secure, and user-friendly environment for women who need to express breast milk during their work shift.

Getting Started

To get started using one of the Duke Lactation Rooms, just follow these steps:

  1. Set up your Duke ID card for access: please submit the access form so that your Duke ID card can be programmed for access. It is best to do this at least ten days in advance. This form should be printed, completed and faxed to Staff and Family Programs requesting access to the lactation rooms.  Staff & Family Programs will forward your information to either the Duke Card Office or Medical Center Card Office for processing.
  2. Obtain breast pump attachments: most lactation rooms are equipped with a Medela Lactina electric pump. You will need to bring your own attachments for the Lactina pump. Visit the Medela website for information on locations to purchase the attachments. You may also want to review the Lactina Pump Instructions before your first visit.  
  3. Plan for storage/cooling: refrigeration/storage is not provided in the rooms, so be prepared to store your breast milk as needed.

Returning to Work

Download a checklist on how to be prepared for returning to work while breastfeeding.

Cleaning & Sanitization

All Lactation Room users are expected to clean up after each use of a room, especially when using the on-site pump equipment. This is not only out of respect for the next user, but to prevent contamination and illness transmission. Each user should allow enough time, within your visit, to clean the pump equipment of breast milk spills after each use and dispose of trash properly. Cavicide wipes and paper towels are provided for cleaning spills off the pump and from the areas around the pump. We do not recommend that you use these products to sanitize your personal equipment.

Privacy

Upon accessing the room, slide the sign to IN USE to alert other users that someone is using the room. Slide the sign back to VACANT when you leave the room unoccupied. Please respect the privacy of all Lactation Room users by knocking before keying in your card access to the rooms. Do not prop open the door at any time.

Log Books

Each room also has a log book to facilitate room coordination with other users. Signing up in the log book does not "reserve" a pump for one staff member's use alone. More than one staff person may need to use the room during the same time slot. It is important to communicate about overlapping schedules and to respect the needs of other users. If you need more log sheets for the room, please contact Staff & Family Programs at Staff-Family-Programs@duke.edu.

How do we set up a lactation room?

Ultimately the aim is to creating a private, clean and comfortable space for your breastfeeding mothers. An unused large closet or private area off of a women's restroom would work. The area should be at least 7 feet by 7 feet, be ventilated, have a door that locks, electrical power and be completely private. It should also be accessible to employees with disabilities. Please email Staff and Family Programs for more information on how you can set up your lactation room.

Lactation Room Locations

Site Room # Location
Perkins Library Employee Lounge Women's room 1st floor next to Women's room
Duke Clinic 5007 Take purple zone elevator to 5th floor. Turn left at corner.
Duke Hospital 5817 5th floor, follow signs to Birthing Center. Take a left before the double doors, go to the end of the hallway.
DCRI 4107A DCRI 4th floor key access required for entry
DCRI 6015 DCRI 6th floor key access required for entry
Hudson Hall Engineering Annex,
Research Drive		 190 Enter Hudson Hall, follow hallway on right, turn left at stairs, room is on the left at the end of hallway.
French Science Family Room 1230 Take the stairs down to the bottom floor, turn right and pass the elevator. Room is at the end of the hallway.
East Campus Science Building (Formerly Old Art Museum) 235 Take stairs to the second floor and the room is straight ahead. Or turn left after exiting the elevator on the second floor.
Levine Science Research Center (LSRC), 450 Research Drive B305 Take main stairs or elevator to third floor, turn left, room is on your left.
Fuqua School of Business E141 In Keller East, if you enter from the circle (front of building) immediately turn left, the room is the last door on the left.
The Durham Center (300 W. Morgan St. in downtown Durham) 903 and 1103
 		 See receptionists on eighth floor to be buzzed in room.
Smith Warehouse Bay 6* 167 Family Room

After entering Bay 6, turn left, room is on the left.
MSRB* 0025D Enter the building from the Research Drive side. Take elevator down one level. Go through double doors. Make the first left down the hallway.
ATC - Strickland Building (334 BlackwellSt.)* 1st floor 1st floor room is next to Ocracoke meeting room.
ATC- Strickland Building (334 Blackwell St.)* 2nd floor 2nd floor room is across from the copy room.
DUHS Clinical Labs (4425 Ben Franklin Blvd.) 114 Enter at the Front entrance Administration Lobby area, Lactation Room 114 will be to your right.  Please make note that  you will need to sign in & out at the front desk
Duke Cancer Center 3N71 Enter Cancer Center from the Level 2 Concourse entrance. Take elevator to Level 3. Lactation room is directly across the hall.

*Pumps are not provided for this room.

Communication List-serve

Staff and Family Programs maintains a lactation room user list with contact information. Signing up for room access includes your membership on a listserv to facilitate communications between Staff and Family Programs and users of the lactation rooms.