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. 2021 Nov 16;15(11):e01544.
doi: 10.1213/XAA.0000000000001544.

Low Prevalence of Designated Lactation Spaces at Hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers in Iowa: An Educational Tool for Graduates' Job Selection

Sarah S Titler  1 , Franklin Dexter  2
Affiliations

Low Prevalence of Designated Lactation Spaces at Hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers in Iowa: An Educational Tool for Graduates' Job Selection

Sarah S Titler et al. A A Pract. .

Abstract

Many anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists want to continue breastfeeding their babies when returning to work from maternity leave. The cornerstone of breast milk supply maintenance is breast milk pumping sessions at regular intervals. These breast milk pumping sessions require time and private space for lactation. We surveyed Iowa hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers and created an educational spreadsheet to guide inquiry and postgraduate job selection of our anesthesiology residents and nurse anesthetist students (eg, when considering future family planning). The survey and spreadsheet showed a low prevalence of dedicated lactation space for anesthesia practitioners near the surgical suites.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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