A Room of One's Own

With pumps and full-service lactation rooms, they have the space for anyone who needs to take the time.

- By Kimberly Weisul

SHEILA DUKAS-JANAKOS REMEMBERS SEEING THE cigarette smoke stream out from under the closed door of her boss's office. It was 1988, and she had just returned to her job at the San Mateo County Health Department after being on maternity leave. Because she was breastfeeding, she needed to pump every few hours while she was away from her baby. At the time, there was no regulation that required her employer to make accommodations for nursing mothers. So when Janakos requested time off to pump, she instead got back-to-back field assignments, making it even harder for her to express milk for her baby.

"He got time off to smoke, but no one would think of giving you time off to pump, because that was a selfish thing to do," she recalls. "Everyone was unforgiving."

After the birth of her second child, Janakos had a job, a 2-year old, an infant, and near-constant mastitis. She was in graduate school, getting her master's degree in public health education. This is not the point at which most people decide to become an entrepreneur, but Janakos was stubborn. And she did not want other parents to have the same experience she'd had.

Her company, Healthy Horizons Breastfeeding Centers, was founded in 1991. It first operated out of her home in the Bay Area, and later out of a small space in an antique store Janakos ran with her then-husband. Today, Healthy Horizons works with more than 50 employers across the country to support employees who have recently returned to work and are lactating. The company designs and furnishes lactation rooms, ensuring they're stocked with everything a nursing mom could need, such as dedicated refrigerators, storage bags for milk, and snacks and water.