Support tent available for new moms at Auburn football games

Auburn's School of Nursing and Lactation Services at East Alabama Medical Center will again offer help to new moms attending Auburn football games.

The Tigers Babies breastfeeding support tent will be available three hours before all home football games until kickoff this season. Last season, the tent was offered at two home games.

Assistant clinical professors Ann Lambert and Laurie Harris got the idea for a breastfeeding support tent after talking with several women who reported they had few safe, clean and private options when they had to breastfeed at a game: either sit in a bathroom stall or a car.

By providing a tent on the lawn in front of Miller Hall, women had a clean, private area to nurse or pump. The tent featured rocking chairs, fully stocked changing tables, and fans or heaters, depending on the weather.

Sara Caldwell, a 2006 Auburn alumna, said using the Tiger Babies tent last year allowed her "to enjoy the day and not stress about when, where and how I would breastfeed."

Morgan Yordy, a 2002 Auburn alumna, was also stressed about breastfeeding her newborn on gameday last year. While she used the tent to nurse, nursing students played with her sons.

"My boys did not realize they were missing out on other tailgating experiences because the nursing students entertained them in a safe environment while I was able to breastfeed," Yordy said. "The stress associated with finding a place to nurse was alleviated by the Tiger Babies tent."

Nursing faculty, lactation consultants from EAMC, and nursing students again will be manning the tent this season to provide assistance and educational materials to new mothers.

Benefits of breastfeeding include aiding the new mom in returning to her pre-pregnancy weight, helping with bonding and attachment between mom and baby, offering greater convenience and affordability, and avoiding heightened chances for health issues as a result of greater immunity from mom's breast milk.