Alum's research into lactation spaces born out of parental experience

Sitting in a dark office next to piles of boxes ready to be moved, Erin Nuckols ‘23 provided for her family — not only by working on a Ph.D. at Virginia Tech but by pumping milk for a new baby at home.

Many nursing, working parents are in similar situations, sitting in a makeshift room or closet that doubles as a designated lactation space. In 2019, Nuckols enrolled in BioBuild, an interdisciplinary graduate education program at Virginia Tech, with the goal of combining a background in history and public health with a passion for sustainability. Nuckols’ original research explored how sustainability is taught, focusing on stories of people and places that get excluded.

Just as Nuckols’ academic journey began, COVID struck in 2020, and with it, a major personal change – the birth of a child.

“Throughout the pandemic, so many of us began to think more about the spaces we were using and the psychological effects of them,” said Nuckols, who uses they/them and she/her pronouns. “As I transitioned from nursing at home to pumping at a university campus I experienced the vast and varied application of lactation room policies.”

Through newly lived experiences and a deepened interest in the emotional and physical impact of the spaces people occupy daily, Nuckols arrived at the intersection of a different set of unique disciplines with BioBuild serving once again as the perfect fit.

“We invite students to think about the built environment as part of larger living systems and look for synergies between them,” said Annie Pearce, director of the BioBuild program and faculty advisor to Nuckols. “Our program brings together engineers, construction managers, biologists, social scientists, musicians, horticulturists, behaviorists, designers — even veterinarians — to create new solutions that will help solve some of the world’s most complex problems.” 

Housed within the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, the program weaves building science and construction through an environmental lens, exploring the living side of the buildings we inhabit. Nuckols saw the program as an opportunity to explore a solution for students who are also parents with similar experiences and in need of lactation spaces.

Turning experience into expertise 

While newer policies have been implemented throughout the U.S. for working people who need lactation spaces in the industrial, corporate, and government sectors, there is only limited, often vague, guidance for lactation spaces on college campuses. Using BioBuild’s framework for interdisciplinary collaboration, Nuckols tapped into the policy-making side of the issue by building a committee with experts in science, technology, society, sociology, building construction, and public health. Their research estimated at least 30,000 student-parents became pregnant on U.S. college campuses in the 2019-20 academic year. 

For those who use lactation rooms, the experience can vary from campus to campus and even building to building. Nuckols’ research focused on three key pieces of a lactation room: the lactating user experience, how the room is configured, and policies that determine access to the spaces.

Tapping into sociological aspects of the lactation room experience, her research identified a disconnect between those creating policies around lactation room usage and those implementing them. This give and take is found in nearly every organization. For Nuckols, the real change can come by involving all those connected to a space throughout all parts of the design process.

“The ‘worker bees’ of an organization are doing the implementation, so by helping them to see the value of inclusion, you’re more able to create sustainable changes,” said Nuckols. “It’s easy to say a certain policy doesn’t make sense, but that’s where the beauty of working across disciplines comes in. We can work together to make the policies better and work to improve the outcomes.” 

Her research also uncovered

• There are limited provisions in federal law to address lactation, especially for nonprotected groups. 
• Current federal policies for lactation areas are vague and do not consider the spaces in a holistic or biophysical manner.
• In a larger organization, it’s often unclear who is responsible for the space, which can lead to dilapidation over time. 
• Current building standards are not equipped to address the specific needs of the human body, especially for lactation spaces. 

Enhancing the experience

“Nursing and lactating put a person in a vulnerable position, so these rooms need to allow for dignity,” said Nuckols. “The ability to choose to feed a child human milk should be a choice of free will, not one made because of inappropriate and undignified physical and social infrastructure.”

Through interviews with people who need lactation rooms, research about other institutions, and review of policies and other literature, Nuckols recommends lactation rooms go beyond checking a box of requirements and should be designed with the user experience in mind. Their research earned the Outstanding Doctoral Student in Interdisciplinary Programs award in 2024. 

As Nuckols walked across the stage to receive a well-earned Myers-Lawson graduate hardhat, they did so with their child, hand-in-hand. She hopes more universities consider the Latin term alma mater, meaning quite literally, “nourishing mother.”  

As Nuckols’ advisor, Pearce sees this work as the perfect example of the design behind the BioBuild program and Virginia Tech’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program. Pearce wants to see more people bring in complex ideas and find bio-inspired solutions that make the world a more inclusive and sustainable place. 

On Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus, you can find more than 30 lactation rooms or spaces with the newest one in Hitt Hall. A map of these locations, how to access them, and additional resources can be found through Hokie Wellness.