New lactation room available at JBER hospital

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher R. Morales
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  The Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson hospital hosted a ribbon cutting for their first lactation room Feb. 26, providing a quiet, private area for nursing mothers.

The lactation room meets the Fair Labor Standards Act requirements for a location for employees to nurse their child or pump breast milk, and the increasing need expressed by mothers.

"The hospital having a lactation room is more than simply meeting federal requirements; it is meeting the needs of all moms, staff and hospital patrons [alike]," said Air Force Capt. Donna Tluczek, 673d Medical Support Group perianesthesia clinical nurse and pre-operation manager. "It's supporting the nutritional needs of newborn babies and boosting the bond between mother and baby."

Tluczek asked the Hospital Facility Utilization Board for a room after conducting two different surveys which showed interest in a private room.

The lactation room offers four additional private areas outside a larger common area with chairs, tables, a sink and toys for toddlers.

The World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics recommend mothers breastfeed from birth to one or two years, or however long the mother and child are comfortable with.
Breast feeding children reduces the risk of lower-respiratory disease, diarrhea, ear infection, urinary-tract infection, SIDS, allergies, asthma, diabetes, leukemia, and some childhood cancers, said to Ruth Hanson, JBER hospital women's health care clinic lactation consultant.

"Babies were born to be breastfed, there just isn't a better substitute," Hanson said.

The lactation room, which is located next to the pediatric clinic on the first floor, is open from 5:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the public and is always open for hospital employees.