Breastfeeding Student Moms Get Private Space, Additional Protections With New Illinois Law

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Teen moms in Illinois will have one less challenge to face when they return to school after a pregnancy: breastfeeding. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a new bill into law that requires schools to provide student moms who breastfeed with a private room where they can pump milk or breastfeed. The law also calls for additional measures to protect students from consequences for time spent breastfeeding.

The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2018, requires "a public school, including a charter school, to provide reasonable accommodations to a lactating pupil on a school campus to express breast milk, breastfeed an infant child, or address other needs related to breastfeeding." Accommodations must include a breastfeeding room in each school must include electrical outlets for breast pumps, along with a place where student moms can refrigerate their milk.

Students must also be given a reasonable amount of time to breastfeed or pump milk and cannot be penalized for time spent breastfeeding. Teachers will be required to give students the opportunity to make up any missed work.

According to a study by the National Library of Medicine, teen moms are "less likely to breastfeed than any other population group in the U.S." The study cites "[their] school’s lack of support, limited space for pumping, lack of time to breastfeed or pump throughout the day, and lack of on-site childcare" as part of what makes breastfeeding increasingly difficult for student moms.

The new Illinois breastfeeding law is a first step in making strides to change that.

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