The Chronicle Online - Work council calls for lactation rooms review Work council calls for lactation rooms review
A council on work and family issues wants to make Duke's six lactation rooms on campus more conducive to mothers who are breast feeding.


by Cindy Yee
October 28, 2002

Although the University prides itself on being a family friendly workplace, on-campus lactation rooms--uninviting, unkempt and few and far between--suggest ample room for improvement.

The Coordinating Council on Work and Family Issues is currently reviewing the University's lactation rooms, following a report from a subcommittee dedicated to the problem. Ideally, lactation rooms provide a comfortable, private setting where nursing mothers can pump breast milk while away from their babies. The subcommittee toured the six lactation rooms on campus and presented their findings at the council's most recent meeting this month. [This campus has six lactation rooms?? Who knew!- JC]

Biomonitoring programs might keep tabs on air, water

By Suzanne Bohan - STAFF WRITER, 28/10/2002

IN THE coming years, expect to hear more about a novel technique, called "biomonitoring," to gauge a community's exposure to environmental toxins and create even more incentives to clean up the air and water.
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In May, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention singled out breast milk as an ideal test fluid in a biomonitoring program, as these toxins accumulate in the fatty tissue in the breast and pass into the milk.

But the presenters at last week's hearing repeatedly voiced their concern that using breast milk to measure toxin exposure might scare women away from breastfeeding their infants. Still, the benefits of breast milk far exceed any risk from contaminants, several speakers stressed.