Restroom and lunch breaks in medical school

Under Title IX, it's illegal for universities receiving federal funding to disadvantage students due to pregnancy. The Department of Education specifically calls out more frequent bathroom breaks as an adjustment that educators must provide to pregnant students.

your school MUST:

  • Allow you to continue participating in classes and extracurricular activities even though you are pregnant. This means that you can still participate in advanced placement and honors classes, school clubs, sports, honor societies, student leadership opportunities, and other activities, like after-school programs operated at the school.

  • Allow you to choose whether you want to participate in special instructional programs or classes for pregnant students. You can participate if you want to, but your school cannot pressure you to do so. The alternative program must provide the same types of academic, extracurricular and enrichment opportunities as your school’s regular program.

  • Allow you to participate in classes and extracurricular activities even though you are pregnant and not require you to submit a doctor’s note unless your school requires a doctor’s note from all students who have a physical or emotional condition requiring treatment by a doctor. Your school also must not require a doctor’s note from you after you have been hospitalized for childbirth unless it requires a doctor’s note from all students who have been hospitalized for other conditions.

  • Provide you with reasonable adjustments, like a larger desk, elevator access, or allowing you to make frequent trips to the restroom, when necessary because of your pregnancy.

Your wife should first request more frequent breaks from her instructors. If this adjustment is not made, the Department of Education gives this list of steps to follow:

Helpful Tips for Pregnant and Parenting Students:

  • Ask your school for help—meet with your school’s Title IX Coordinator or counselor regarding what your school can do to support you in continuing your education.

  • Keep notes about your pregnancy-related absences, any instances of harassment and your interactions with school officials about your pregnancy, and immediately report problems to your school’s Title IX Coordinator, counselor, or other staff.

  • If you feel your school is discriminating against you because you are pregnant or parenting you may file a complaint:

    • Using your school’s internal Title IX grievance procedures.

    • With the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), even if you have not filed a complaint with your school. If you file with OCR, make sure you do so within 180 days of when the discrimination took place.

    • In court, even if you have not filed a complaint with your school or with OCR.

  • Contact OCR if you have any questions. We are here to help make sure all students, including pregnant and parenting students, have equal educational opportunities!

Bryan Krause suggested that she ought to escalate within the departmental (eg, officials within the medical school) before escalating the Title IX coordinator.


Students are not generally employees in the US so comparing the laws that govern a workplace (OSHA and labor laws) is not really relevant. That said, treating your students nicely, even if it is not legally required is still a good thing.

Scheduling students in back-to-back-to-back ... classes is stupid and serves no point but to abuse students. It is completely reasonable for a student to ask for accommodations to be made for bathroom and lunch breaks. Best is probably to email a few professors in advance and explain the situation that the schedule does not allow for any breaks. Then ask them if it would be least disruptive for you to arrive late, leave in the middle, or leave early. You may also want to follow up on if there are safety concerns regarding eating (or evening bringing) food into the classroom. Again, tell them you are going to eat, and want to do it in the least disruptive way possible.

If there is any resistance, then you escalate to the department chair, dean, etc. as needed.