In collaboration with women’s network SOPHIA, RISE has strived for better facilities for nursing mothers at Leiden University. In February 2020, the Diversity Office made an inventory of the nursing mothers rooms available to nursing staff and students at Leiden University and assessed the quality in the framework of applicable legal requirements to nursing mothers rooms. This inventory revealed a number of points for improvements and suggestions were made for the practical implementation thereof. The Diversity Office is in contact with the University Real Estate Directorate, which is responsible for managing and maintaining university buildings and the faculties about the required improvements.
The legal requirements for nursing mothers rooms in accordance with Article 3.48 Working Conditions Decree are as follows:
- It should be a quiet, secluded and hygienic space;
- The room must be lockable from the inside;
- There must be a bed or couch on which one can sit comfortably;
- There must be a refrigerator to store the expressed milk;
- There must be sufficient fresh air and the possibility of climate control;
- There should be no risks such as hazardous substances and contaminants;
- The space must offer sufficient privacy.
The nursing mothers room at the Sylvius location was assessed as “best practice” with respect to legal requirement 1 and put forward as “nice atmosphere, nice space, clean and relaxing”. The same goes, in our opinion, for the room in the new Gorlaeus Building.
An overview of all nursing mothers rooms at Leiden University can be found here.
