Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Nursing Pod Dedicated Wednesday
March 02, 2023 10:15 AM | Women's Basketball, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University Women's Resource Center, Office of the Provost and Intercollegiate Athletics unveiled the first WVU Nursing Pod at the WVU Coliseum prior to the women's basketball game against Oklahoma State on Wednesday night.
This transportable suite was developed by Mamava and is a state-of-the-art, freestanding nursing center providing a safe, convenient and comfortable area for nursing parents.
This large, private nursing suite has a keyless entry and trackable vacancy alerts through the Mamava app. Lighting and fans can be adjusted through the app and a multi-user, hospital-grade Medela pump is also available. The pod has plenty of outlets and USB ports, enabling parents to relax and focus on nursing or pumping.
Wednesday night's formal ribbon-cutting ceremony dedicated the 14th lactation room on WVU's campuses, but the first of this kind.
"Dedicated lactation spaces are very important to parents who want to continue nursing their babies after returning to work or school," Women's Resource Center director Leslie Tower said. "The nursing pod allows a parent to nurse a child for express milk in a clean, private space.
"That's a welcomed treat for anyone who has to juggle baby and or nursing equipment, usually in a bathroom," Tower said. "Using the free Mamava app, users can see when the pod is available and can use a host of features to make their experience as comfortable as possible."
West Virginia University women's basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit noted that there are many events in the Coliseum throughout the year, and this facility will be used frequently.
"A special thank you to the WVU Women's Resource Center and the Office of the Provost for all of their efforts in this initiative," she said. "We are thankful to have something for our fans and our spectators to allow them to come and enjoy our games and still have the privacy that they need."
April Messerly, WVU's senior associate athletics director for capital projects, facilities and event management, said the Mamava pod falls in line with the department's goal of providing the best possible fan experience at all Mountaineer venues.
"This is the first Mamava pod in the state, and we're really excited to have this technology and this amenity available to our mothers and to our fans. There are a lot of home events in the Coliseum, in addition to two commencement ceremonies, Welcome Week activities, as well as concerts.
"We are always looking for opportunities to improve the fan experience, and we have a lot of fans that are mothers, so this is a prime example of how we are improving the fan experience," she added.
The transportable lactation suite is currently located at the Coliseum's Mountaineer Gate and will be moved to Milan Puskar Stadium's North Entrance each football season. WVU employees may use the pod all year.
Also attending Wednesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony were Katie Farmer, communications director in the Provost's Office and her four-month-old daughter, Miley, women's advocate Cathy Jasper and Mountaineer mascot Mary Roush.
This transportable suite was developed by Mamava and is a state-of-the-art, freestanding nursing center providing a safe, convenient and comfortable area for nursing parents.
This large, private nursing suite has a keyless entry and trackable vacancy alerts through the Mamava app. Lighting and fans can be adjusted through the app and a multi-user, hospital-grade Medela pump is also available. The pod has plenty of outlets and USB ports, enabling parents to relax and focus on nursing or pumping.
Wednesday night's formal ribbon-cutting ceremony dedicated the 14th lactation room on WVU's campuses, but the first of this kind.
"Dedicated lactation spaces are very important to parents who want to continue nursing their babies after returning to work or school," Women's Resource Center director Leslie Tower said. "The nursing pod allows a parent to nurse a child for express milk in a clean, private space.
"That's a welcomed treat for anyone who has to juggle baby and or nursing equipment, usually in a bathroom," Tower said. "Using the free Mamava app, users can see when the pod is available and can use a host of features to make their experience as comfortable as possible."
West Virginia University women's basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit noted that there are many events in the Coliseum throughout the year, and this facility will be used frequently.
"A special thank you to the WVU Women's Resource Center and the Office of the Provost for all of their efforts in this initiative," she said. "We are thankful to have something for our fans and our spectators to allow them to come and enjoy our games and still have the privacy that they need."
April Messerly, WVU's senior associate athletics director for capital projects, facilities and event management, said the Mamava pod falls in line with the department's goal of providing the best possible fan experience at all Mountaineer venues.
"This is the first Mamava pod in the state, and we're really excited to have this technology and this amenity available to our mothers and to our fans. There are a lot of home events in the Coliseum, in addition to two commencement ceremonies, Welcome Week activities, as well as concerts.
"We are always looking for opportunities to improve the fan experience, and we have a lot of fans that are mothers, so this is a prime example of how we are improving the fan experience," she added.
The transportable lactation suite is currently located at the Coliseum's Mountaineer Gate and will be moved to Milan Puskar Stadium's North Entrance each football season. WVU employees may use the pod all year.
Also attending Wednesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony were Katie Farmer, communications director in the Provost's Office and her four-month-old daughter, Miley, women's advocate Cathy Jasper and Mountaineer mascot Mary Roush.
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