Over recent months, colleagues from Estates & Facilities, the EDI Team in Human Resources, and Staff Networks have worked together to successfully relocate our Highfield-based provision for new and expectant parents from B6 (Nuffield) to B37. Staff Matters spoke to Claire Partridge, Co-Chair of the Parents and Carers Network, to hear about the new rooms:

The New and Expectant Parents’ Rooms provide spaces where pregnant women can rest, parents can feed their baby, and staff and students can express breastmilk when away from their child.

Working through pregnancy can be challenging, and returning to work after maternity or parental leave is a difficult transition for many new parents. Whilst the law requires employers to provide a suitable area where pregnant workers and breastfeeding mothers can rest, we were all keen to provide something better than the bare minimum! We wanted to create spaces that felt like a sanctuary; places where people can genuinely rest in the middle of a busy day at the office. When plans for the Nuffield refurbishment meant that the existing provision would be decommissioned, Sam Arnett from E&F got to work to identify alternative spaces across Highfield Campus. Meanwhile, given it’s been several years since I last had a baby, I started by asking Parents and Carers Network members what features they would most value within this sort of provision.

Privacy, cushions and comfy chairs came out top of the list – and when I spoke to E&F colleagues about the psychology of breastfeeding and expressing breastmilk, they took what I said on board and completely understood the value of the “little things”, creating spaces that are green oases of calm, with soft lighting, artwork on the walls, plants and a mixture of comfortable and functional seating options.

Sam Arnett, Project Manager for the Nuffield Refurbishment Project, said;

“It was a delight working with the University’s New & Expectant Parents Room stakeholders and Maintenance Team operatives to deliver this relocation project. Faced with a challenging programme, everyone came together and responded quickly and collaboratively to deliver a welcoming, high-quality space that supports new and expectant parents on campus.”

Of course; we all know that budgets are tight across the whole University, so I was grateful for the generosity of University budget-holders and individuals who donated things out of their own pockets alike – from artwork to hand-made bunting and much more besides. The new gliding nursing chair in one of the rooms was purchased using collective funds from all the University Staff Networks, and I am so touched by the support of my fellow Network Chairs and Co-Chairs.

Alex Melhuish, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion specialist, who worked on this project, said;

“This project has shown Southampton’s collegiality at its best! What started as unexpected news that the current New and Expectant Parents Room needed to close has become a fully realised opportunity: newly refurbished rooms, with fresh and comfortable decor that really feels like an upgrade! Sam has done an excellent job – liaising with contractors and negotiating costs within the Nuffield refurbishment budget – while Claire has expertly coordinated the transition while engaging members of the Parents’ and Carers’ Network in shaping what these new rooms look and feel like.”

The result of all this work is two beautiful rooms that are a genuine pleasure to spend time in. I hope that they go some way to improving the experience of staff and students who are pregnant and feeling exhausted/anxious/uncomfortable, or returning to work/study and trying to pick their careers back up whilst their bodies and brains are undergoing huge physiological and emotional changes.

Full details of the rooms – including photos, a video tour, directions and access information – are available on the Parents and Carers Network SharePoint site.

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