Employee Resources for Pregnancy and Parenting

UMBC Resources for Pregnancy and Parenting:

• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Request form
• Parental Leave Form
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act
• Family-Friendly Restrooms:
  • Family-friendly restrooms have space for changing your infant or toddler.  We want to make sure that parents, guardians and caregivers can locate them on campus. Family-friendly restrooms are located in the following buildings:
    • AOK Library: 1st Floor, men’s and women’s restrooms
    • ITE Building: 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor restrooms
    • Meyerhoff Chemistry Building: 1st Floor, men’s and women’s restrooms
    • Physics: 1st Floor, men’s and women’s restrooms
    • Performing Arts and Humanities Building: 2nd floor all gender restroom
    • Public Policy: 1st Floor, men’s and women’s restrooms
    • RAC: Main lobby, men’s and women’s restrooms
    • The Commons: Ground Floor in both all gender restrooms
• Lactation Rooms:
  • Library
  • Women’s Center
  • Retriever Activities Center (RAC)
  • Shady Grove Location
• Moms and Parents Group: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/umbcparents
• Graduate Assistant Handbook
  • Parental Leave Fellowships (see page 9)

Additional Resources for Pregnancy and Parenting:

• National Women’s Law Center Resources: https://nwlc.org/issue/pregnant-parenting-students/
• Maryland Family Network (guidance for searching for and locating child care) https://www.marylandfamilynetwork.org/for-parents/locate-child-care
• Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP): https://mmcp.health.maryland.gov/chp/Pages/Home.aspx
• Food Assistance for Women, Infants and Children (WIC): https://phpa.health.maryland.gov/wic/pages/home.aspx
• Car Seat rental Program: Maryland Kids in Safety Seats (KISS)  1-800-370-7328
• The Family Tree (Parenting Support) https://familytreemd.org
• Maryland Department of Health Family Planning and Reproductive Health care: https://phpa.health.maryland.gov/mch/Pages/fp_home.aspx
• Baltimore Child Abuse Center: https://www.lifebridgehealth.org/CenterforHope/BaltimoreChildAbuseCenterServices.aspx
• Kid Power: https://www.kidpower.org/

Resources for Faculty and Staff to Support Student Parents:

Several resources to support UMBC faculty and staff are also available for students to include access to UMBCworks, the Y Preschool, Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Women’s Center, and the myUMBC Moms and Parents group. The information below includes other possibilities for creating equitable support and care for student parents in your classes and programs.

• Be flexible. Remote instruction does not alleviate the need for child care.Student parents may need enhanced flexibility around coursework deadlines, remote instruction attendance, and mandatory testing or project completion requirements.

• Include information on your syllabus that welcomes students with children to contact you if they need assistance or accommodations.

• Think carefully about how your current course policies may make things harder for pregnant or parenting students. For instance, if your class is only offered synchronously, how will you accommodate a student parent who may need to step away from class or miss class entirely to care for their child who is also learning and living at home?

• Encourage student parents to access campus resources that can help them in their academic success (such as the Academic Advocates and Academic Success Center) or can support their well being (such as the Counseling Center or the Center for Counseling and Consultation (CCC) at USG)

• Promote events and programs that are family friendly and encourage student parents to participate in these activities with their families.

• Let students know about the myUMBC Moms and Parents group, Student Parents Meet-Ups, and access to the lactation rooms on campus (for those who are teaching or working on campus).

• Educate yourself about the needs of students who are pregnant and/or parenting. If you’re not sure what the best next step may be, reach out to the Women’s Center, ECR, or other trusted colleagues who may be able to provide helpful recommendations.