Being a mother and a student can be challenging, but NIU has resources to help student parents succeed in reaching their goals.

One resource available to all mothers is lactation stations. These stations are located around the campus and are private rooms for women who are breastfeeding to pump or feed their children in private. Some of the locations include the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, Reavis Hall and the Campus Life Building in the Military and Post Traditional Students lounge. There is also one in a cubby area in the first floor bathroom in the Holmes Student Center, rooms 701 and 708 of the student center and the infant room for those enrolled in Campus Child Care.

“We offer several places if students are needing to use it, and if needed we have offices that can be used if students want privacy,” Jeffery Salmon, Military and Post Traditional Students assistant said.

In the Holmes Student Center, there’s a refrigerator where breast milk can be stored, and it is located in the basement of the center which is 023J. This helps because mothers may need to store the milk for a later time but do not have access to a cooler or fridge during the course of their day.

NIU also offers child care for students at the Child Development and Family Center located in Gabel Hall. According to the NIU website, children from ages three months to five years are provided care and learning opportunities.

Despite challenges, students were able to find support within the NIU community.

“The only challenge that I faced was not being able to work because my job at the school was not very accommodating to me having a newborn,” Moriah Tyler, a first year Law student said. “other than that, there were many people at NIU who helped me with my son, like buying him clothes, watching him and being there when I needed a shoulder to lean on.”

Students can also take advantage of the family housing NIU offers, such as Northern View. They offer family style apartments, which any students with children can live. They are located in buildings two and sixand they also have a community center that includes both a playroom and a playground where the kids can play while their parents study.

They also offer a parent support group where students can talk about being parents and students at the same time.

“We hope that students feel comfortable with meeting other student parents in our lounge or in any of the workshops we have. We welcome to students to bring their children if they need to.” Salmon said. “We have a TV and game area, which can help keep kids occupied while students study.”

Tyler said that the support group can be very helpful to all the student parents out there.

“The parent support helped me vent about common problems that I could relate to other students about. This was important to me because since I was very active on campus, I was typically surrounded by students who did not have kids and therefore could not relate to some of the joys and challenges that I faced as a mother in the undergraduate world.” said Tyler.

While motherhood and parenthood in general can be challenging, student mothers have several campus resources when it comes to both getting their education and making they are providing the best life for their children.