Tiger Babies Program Turns Ten

Submitted by Katie M. Wilder

One of the College of Nursing’s outreach initiatives is all grown up. Tiger Babies, the program established to support breastfeeding mothers at Auburn University events, turns ten years old this fall. 

Ann Lambert, clinical professor in Auburn’s College of Nursing, conceived the program more than a decade ago, and said she has loved watching Tiger Babies grow to meet the needs of so many young families.  

The Tiger Babies mission is three-fold: to increase breastfeeding awareness; to provide a clean, comfortable place for breastfeeding mothers to nurse infants during public events; and to increase the duration of breastfeeding. 

The idea was born when Lambert and Laurie Harris, a former AUCON faculty member, noticed several families with small babies at Auburn football games. “I knew they would probably have to go in a restroom and sit in a stall and try to breastfeed,” Harris said.  

At the time, the then School of Nursing was located in Miller Hall, across from Jordan-Hare Stadium. Lambert thought a tent on the lawn of Miller Hall could provide a designated spot for nursing mothers and young families during busy gamedays. “It was Laurie who dreamed big and suggested we could have Tiger Babies at the stadium. Her encouragement and vision moved us forward with our plans.” 

Lambert said much of the success of Tiger Babies can be credited to Psyche Wilburn and her husband Steve. An Auburn nursing graduate and lactation consultant at Baptist East Hospital in Montgomery, Wilburn, has worked at every home game for the last ten years to lead nursing students in providing outreach services for moms and their babies. “I think she only missed one game when her son moved to attend college out of state,” Lambert said. 

Today, the Tiger Babies tent provides two private nursing suites, each with a cushioned glider, ottoman, and power strip for portable breast pumps and cell phones; a diaper changing station (with extra wipes, diapers, hand sanitizer, and a diaper disposal system); free-standing fans and heaters; free bottled water; and activities for siblings.  

Sara Caldwell was the first nursing mother to use the Tiger Babies tent 10 years ago. She heard about the program from a breastfeeding support group at East Alabama Medical Center after giving birth to her daughter Anne. She had never used a designated nursing location like Tiger Babies before. “I always had to use dressing rooms or a nursing cover to feed my daughter in public places so having a spot with a comfortable rocking chair and curtain for privacy was such a luxury!” she said. 

Caldwell said the addition of the Tiger Babies tent meant she could more easily enjoy gameday and be present with the rest of her family without the stress of being on a baby’s schedule.  

“I hope new moms will see that you can get out and enjoy activities, like tailgating and sporting events, with organizations like Tiger Babies leading the charge to make moms feel supported by giving them a calm and comfortable place to feed their babies,” she said. 

Since Caldwell first used the tent in 2015, the program has grown to also include five private nursing areas inside Jordan-Hare Stadium: two Tiger Babies branded nursing pods and three additional locations inside first aid stations throughout the stadium. There are also pods at the Alumni Center and Melton Student Center and an area inside Neville Arena that are all open on gamedays.  

The impact of Tiger Babies has been so great that there are now approximately 15 locations open year-round across campus for nursing mothers – dedicated spaces for breastfeeding are available at the airport, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and the College of Nursing to name a few. And the program has expanded to Auburn for men’s and women’s basketball games, gymnastics meets, and baseball games as well. The majority, however, still use the service during home football games. 

“We’ve helped more than 2,250 moms from more than 27 states and 3 countries on football gamedays,” Lambert said. “Auburn Athletics and our Dean have been supportive from the first day. East Alabama Health was also instrumental in providing a trailer for all of our equipment.”  

The program has been so successful that other universities across the Southeastern Conference have taken notice of the program.  

“Auburn was the first university in the SEC to do this, and several other institutions have contacted me about starting their own – the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama, and the University of Arkansas to name a few,” Lambert said. 

Each gameday, Tiger Babies is staffed by a clinical associate lactation specialist and 12 to 15 AUCON students who earn clinical credit for their participation. The students talk with families, practice infection control by cleaning the areas between users, offer water to keep moms hydrated, and increase awareness about breastfeeding.  

“Overall, the students have a good experience interacting with the families, and I think they are surprised by how many families are breastfeeding and needing this service,” Lambert said. “I also think it helps destigmatize breastfeeding for the students. They see that it is normal and accepted.” 

Lambert said the students also help survey users to find out where they are from, how they heard about the program, and their satisfaction with the program, among other things. Of the women surveyed through the years, 100 percent said they had an increased willingness to bring their infant to athletic events knowing they had a private location to nurse.   

She said an outreach initiative like Tiger Babies is a good representation of what Auburn and the College of Nursing are all about at their core. “It perfectly fits the mission of Auburn because it combines an opportunity for teaching, outreach, and research while serving others.” 

And though the program has grown and expanded in the past decade, its purpose remains unchanged: providing support and encouragement to nursing mothers and young families – something Lambert says she hopes Tiger Babies will do for decades to come. 

“We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback throughout the years. So many people are just grateful for a place to breastfeed and are thankful that we recognize there is a need,” she said. “It’s been very motivating.”