Pregnant & Parenting

CSUDH is committed to providing support to faculty, staff, and students that are pregnant and parenting. The Office of Equity & Inclusion works closely with other offices, including the Student disAbility Resource Center, Human Resources Management, and Employee Benefits to serve our community of parenting Toros. 

Student Accommodations

If you are pregnant or have recently given birth and would like to request academic accommodations, please contact the Student disAbility Resource Center (SdRC) at (310) 243-3660. SdRC staff will guide you through a process to provide you with reasonable accommodations to ensure your continued success as a CSUDH student. The Office of Equity & Inclusion works closely with SdRC staff to ensure that CSUDH students are supported throughout their pregnancy and after giving birth.

If requested, SdRC staff will assist you in contacting your faculty to inform them that per the US Department of Education, CSUDH must accommodate the student the following ways: 

  • Excuse a student’s absences due to pregnancy or related conditions, including recovery from childbirth, for as long as the student’s doctor deems the absences to be medically necessary. 
  • When the student returns to school, [they] must be reinstated to the status [they] held when the leave began, which should include giving [them] the opportunity to make up any work missed. 
  • Offer the student alternatives to making up missed work, such as retaking a semester, taking part in an online course credit recovery program, or allowing the student additional time in a program to continue at the same pace and finish at a later date, especially after longer periods of leave. The student should be allowed to choose how to make up the work. 
  • A teacher may not refuse to allow a student to submit work after a deadline that [they] missed because of absences due to pregnancy or childbirth. Additionally, if a teacher’s grading is based in part on class attendance or participation, the student should be allowed to earn the credits [they] missed so that [they] can be reinstated to the status [they] had before the leave.

Workplace Accommodations

For requests for reasonable accommodations for pregnant and parenting employees under Title IX, employees may call the Office of Equity and Inclusion at (310) 243-3492 or Human Resources Management at (310) 243-3771.

For information about employee benefits and leave policies, please review the information available on the Employee Benefits website or contact benefitservices@vbj4.com.

Lactation/Breastfeeding Information

All parenting Toros who need to either breastfeed or express milk for their child while on campus have access to several private, lockable lactation rooms on campus. Locations of these spaces are below. All Lactation Stations may be used by parents of all genders, and those that are ADA and wheelchair accessible are noted below.

Lactation Stations at CSUDH

  1. Loker Student Union, Second Floor (MAMAVA Pod)
    • Download the MAMAVA app to make a reservation and receive your MAMAVA CODE to unlock the pod
    • All-Gender
    • ADA compliant and wheelchair accessible
  2. University Library, 3rd floor(Room 3005)
    • Make a reservation here and visit the Technology and Logistical Services (TLS) desk in LibSouth #2039
    • A Student Assistant or Staff will show you to the room and unlock the door
    • All-Gender
    • ADA compliant and wheelchair accessible
  3. Innovation and Instruction, 3rd floor (Room 3409) and 4th floor (Room 4418)
    • All-Gender
    • Has internal locks that should remain open when not in use
    • Please let us know if you have questions or issues at equity@vbj4.com
  4. Science and Innovation, 3rd floor (Room 383)
    • All-Gender
    • Has an internal lock that should remain open when not in use
    • Please let us know if you have questions or issues at equity@vbj4.com
  5. Welch Hall, 3rd floor (Room 335), Department of Nursing
    • All-Gender
    • To request to use this space, please contact (310) 243-3596
  6. Women's Resource Center, Classroom Village near Lot 7
    • Staff will provide access to the room
    • All-Gender
    • Available when Center is open Monday-Thursday, 9am-5pm

Lactation Rooms Floorplan

In addition to the designated locations, flexible lactation stations can be made available on an as-needed basis. These spaces should meet minimum requirements for lactation stations. They should be private, including a lockable door that is shielded from the view of co-workers, classmates, and the public with a message on the door that it is in use. They should also be sanitary, not in a bathroom or toilet stall, equipped with a chair and table, and supplied with electrical outlets. Parents must make their own arrangements for refrigeration, including sealed containers and proper storage. To ensure compliance with the requirements of lactation stations under our policies, call the Office of Equity & Inclusion at (310) 243-3492 to schedule an appointment to assess your flexible space.  
The Office of Equity & Inclusion would also like to offer Toros that may need to pump while at work or class a free insulated bag to store your milk while on the go. Just give us a call or send us an email at equity@vbj4.com.

Adequate Break Time to Breastfeed/Pump

Adequate break time for breastfeeding or lactating university employees will be provided and should accommodate the time to walk to and from the lactation station as well as retrieve, set up, wash, and clean a pump or other supplies for breastfeeding, expressing or storing milk, consistent with California State University Technical Letter HR/Salary 2011-05 [PDF] and federal guidelines. Requests should be made to managers for adequate break time.

Additional Resources