Pregnancy, Lactation, and Recovery

UCSC provides individualized support to students, staff, and faculty to ensure full access and participation in education, employment, and university services and programs.  If you have a general question about Title IX or Anti-Discrimination Policy protections regarding pregnancy or related conditions, please email us at adaaccess@ucsc.edu. 

The UC Santa Cruz interactive campus map includes a button (see map navigation menu), which links to a map with all of the current lactation room locations. Click on each location to learn about individual spaces, including hours of operation and notes if appropriate about access.

Please note that some lactation rooms require a key from an administrator to access. Others are only available during office hours, or are only available to staff members.

Students

If you are a student who needs resources for your education program and/or activities at UCSC because you are pregnant or experiencing pregnancy or related conditions, contact the Disability Resource Center (“DRC”) to meet with an Accommodation Advisor or Service Coordinator who will be able to work with you to determine what reasonable modifications you may need based upon your individualized needs.

If you are only looking for accessible furniture, please contact the Accessible Classroom Furniture Support email at drcfurniture@ucsc.edu.

The “Students as Parents” website is a great resources for UCSC student parents.

Examples of Reasonable Modifications

Reasonable modifications may include, but are not limited to:

1. Breaks during class to express breast milk, breastfeed, or attend to health needs associated with pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, including eating, drinking, or using the restroom.
2. Intermittent excused absences to attend medical appointments.
3. Access to online or homebound education.
4. Changes in schedule or course sequence.
5. Extensions of time for coursework and rescheduling of tests and examinations.
6. Allowing a student to sit or stand, or carry or keep water nearby.
7. Counseling.
8. Changes in physical space or supplies (for example, access to a larger desk or a footrest). 
9. Elevator access.

Faculty and Staff

If you are a staff or faculty member who needs resources for employment at UCSC because you are pregnant or experiencing related conditions, contact your supervisor or department chair or contact Disability Management Services.

If you are only looking for accessible furniture, please contact the Accessible Classroom Furniture Support email at JobAccommodations@ucsc.edu.

Addressing Concerns and Filing Complaints

• The Title IX Coordinator retains ultimate oversight over these responsibilities to ensure consistent compliance with all responsibilities under Title IX. If you are having difficulty receiving timely support and resources or feel you are being discriminated against or harassed on the basis of your status as a pregnant person or due to a pregnancy-related condition, please contact adaaccess@ucsc.edu
• If you believe you have been denied access to your education or employment due to pregnancy, parenting, or lactation issues, you may make a report through the online portal: https://uctitleix.i-sight.com/portal 
• Retaliation under either the UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy or the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy is strictly prohibited.

Definitions

Pregnancy or related conditions

• Pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or lactation;
• Medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or lactation; or
• Recovery from pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, or related medical conditions.

Discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

• Related medical conditions include but are not limited to:

Pregnancy-related fatigue, dehydration (or the need for increased water intake), nausea (or morning sickness), increased body temperature, anemia, and bladder dysfunction; gestational diabetes; preeclampsia; hyperemesis gravidarum (i.e., severe nausea and vomiting); pregnancy-induced hypertension (high blood pressure); infertility; recovery from childbirth, miscarriage, or abortion; ectopic pregnancy; prenatal or postpartum depression; and lactation conditions such as swelling or leaking of breast tissue or mastitis. 

Parental Status

The status of a person, who with respect to another person who is under the age of 18 or who is 18 or older but incapable of self-care because of a physical or mental disability, is:

• A biological parent; adoptive parent; foster parent; or stepparent;
• A legal custodian or guardian;
• In loco parentis with respect to such person; or
• Actively seeking custody, guardianship, visitation, or adoption of such a person.

University Obligations

• Voluntary Access to Separate and Comparable Portion of Program or Activity: A student must be allowed to voluntarily access any separate and comparable portion of a university education program or activity provided that the separate portion is comparable to that offered to students who are not pregnant and do not have related conditions.
  
• Voluntary Leave of Absence: You may take a voluntary leave of absence from your education program or any activity for a period of time deemed medically necessary by your licensed healthcare provider. To the extent you qualify for leave under a different leave policy maintained by the university that allows a greater period of time than the medically necessary period, you are permitted to take that time if you so choose. When you return to your education program, you will be reinstated to the status you held before your leave began, as practicable.
  
• Lactation Space: UCSC will ensure that you can access a lactation space, which must be a space other than a bathroom, that is clean, shielded from view, free from intrusion from others, and may be used for expressing breast milk or breastfeeding as needed.
  • Link to lactation spaces on campus here. [I thought we had a site with pictures of the rooms and details about what was in them, but I am not finding it.]
  • https://maps.ucsc.edu/#  (Select “Lactation Rooms” under “Health, Safety & Facilities” on the left)
    
• Limitation on supporting documentation: When you are in the process of seeking and acquiring reasonable modifications due to pregnancy or a related condition, UC Santa Cruz cannot require you to provide supporting documentation unless the documentation is necessary and reasonable for making a determination regarding reasonable accommodations and additional specific actions.
  • Supporting documentation is not necessary for the following reasonable accommodations:
    • if you need a bigger uniform
    • if you need to carry or keep water nearby
    • if you need a bigger desk
    • If you need to be able to sit or stand as necessary
    • if you need to take breaks to eat, drink, or use the restroom
    • If you need a break to attend to lactation needs

• Comparable treatment to other temporary medical conditions: UCSC must treat pregnancy or related conditions in the same manner and under the same policies as any other temporary medical conditions with respect to any medical or hospital benefit, service, plan, or policy the university administers, operates, offers, or participates in with respect to students admitted to the university’s education program or activity.
  
• Certification to participate: UCSC cannot require you to provide certification from a healthcare provider or any other person indicating that you are physically able to participate in a class, program, or extracurricular activity unless:
  • The certified level of physical ability or health is necessary for participation in the class, program, or extracurricular activity,
  • Certification is required of all students participating in the class, program, or extracurricular activity, and
  • The information obtained is not used as a basis of discrimination. 

Additional Resources

Visit the Students as Parents webpage for more information about resources for students who are parents.

Other federal and state laws also protect pregnant employees from discrimination. Please click on the links below for resources and information on this topic:

Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (the PUMP Act) 

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) 

Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Pregnancy rights under the California Fair Housing & Employment Act

The Pregant Scholar: Resources for Pregnant Students, Post Docs, and Faculty