Breastfeeding might be one of the most natural things in the world, but when it comes to doing it in public, it can be an uncomfortable process.
Despite increased awareness being raised in recent years, there’s still sadly a huge taboo surrounding this natural activity. In some places, mothers are even being stopped and told to use the restroom if they attempt to feed their little one in public.
Of course, some mothers feel uncomfortable breastfeeding in public anyway, so they’re forced to use the restroom if they’re out and about with their baby.
Whatever your views and preferences are about feeding your baby in public, one company might have come up with a solution – the lactation pod.
What Is A Lactation Pod?
The Lactation Pod is an innovative product designed by Mamava; a company set up by two frustrated mothers.
Managing director, Christine Dodson and her colleague, Sascha Mayer, a brand strategist, set up Mamava to solve a problem all breastfeeding mothers have – a lack of private, suitable facilities.
Together with David Jacks, a designer, they created the Lactation Pod, or Lactation Suites as they are also commonly known. These are basically mobile rooms which provide lactating mothers with the facilities they need to feed their little one in private.
However, they’re so much more than a private room. The creators have also taken into account the psychology behind breastfeeding and the factors that would make the experience as comfortable and easy as possible. They didn’t want it to just feel like a private bathroom. Instead, they’ve added:
- A fold-out table
- Electrical outlet
- Soft lighting
- Wipeable surfaces and seats
- A lockable door
- Plenty of space
The minute you step into one of these pods, you’re surrounded by peace, quiet and serenity. There’s room enough to fit a stroller, two or three children and all of your breastfeeding equipment.
The pods themselves were largely developed with pumping in mind. That’s why they are fitted with electrical outlets and a large fold-down table to accommodate your pumping equipment. This is something that is severely lacking in public bathrooms. However, the creators of these pods also stress that they are perfect for natural breastfeeding too.
It’s the smaller details that make these pods really stand out. The wipeable seats and surfaces are great for potential spills, while a lockable door ensures maximum privacy. You even need to enter a little code to get into the door, preventing children from being able to open and close it themselves.
There’s so much to love about these lactation pods and everyone who has tried them so far has had nothing but good things to say about them. It sounds great, right? So where exactly are these lactation pods?
Where Can You Find Lactation Pods?
At the moment, lactation pods are available in very limited places. They haven’t long hit the market and the cost has limited who can actually afford them. It is worth pointing out these aren’t something you can buy for the home. Well, technically you can, if you have a spare $11,000! However, they are largely marketed at businesses and public spaces such as malls, airports and zoos.
The goal of the lactation pods was to fill the gap, especially for working mothers, who currently have very limited options of where to feed their little one when they’re out and about.
Even at work, businesses don’t tend to have dedicated areas their female employees can go to breastfeed. However, the laws are changing and businesses which employ more at least 50 non-exempt employees, are required to provide adequate space as well as time for mothers to breastfeed their babies. It’s also highlighted here that the space isn’t able to be a bathroom. So, these lactation pods are likely to appeal to larger businesses who have very limited internal space to add additional room for breastfeeding facilities.
So, they may not be available in many places just yet, but that is likely to change in the not too distant future. For now, you can discover where your nearest lactation pod is using the Mamava app. It’s totally free and is available on both Android as well as iPhone devices.
Not Everyone Is A Fan Of These New Lactation Pods
While many women are excited by the development of these cozy, private lactation pods, some are less than impressed! In fact, many mothers find them offensive, as they’re still seen as dictating where a woman should go to feed her child.
The main issue appears to be how the lactation pods are advertised. A mother of three was particularly annoyed by how the Atlanta Airport had advertised its new lactation pod locations. Her issue was that under the law of the Georgia Code, it states that the breastfeeding of a baby is natural act, and the mother should be able to feed her baby in any location she chooses.
However, while it’s true women should have the choice to breastfeed wherever they want, these lactation pods aren’t actually designed to dictate where you should go. As mentioned earlier, they are especially designed for breast pumping. This is something that’s actually pretty difficult to do just anywhere. Many pumps need an electrical outlet, then there’s the space it takes up. So, the pods are designed to make it easier for mothers who pump, as well as giving women the option to go somewhere private if they prefer.
Conclusion
Overall, the lactation pods are an exciting development, but whether you choose to use them or not is entirely up to you. They aren’t found in many places right now, but it’s more than likely they are going to gain in popularity over the course of the next year so availability will increase.
What do you make of these lactation pods, would you use one? Share your thoughts below!
Oh, wow! I had never heard of these lactation pods nor have I ever seen one.
I actually think it’s an amazing idea and I’m surprised that nobody has come up with it sooner. When I was still heavily breastfeeding my son, if I even attempted to do it in public, I would get deadly stares. Like I would kill somebody. I felt so uncomfortable after that I tried my best to avoid it.
If I had seen one of these pods at that time I would for sure use it. It seems very nice and it gives you more privacy. I really like that they’ve put fold-out table and similar things in there so it isn’t just an empty space. I honestly believe that the pods will come extremely popular really fast and that we will see one almost everywhere.
I really don’t see it as a bad thing though. I understand why some mothers are annoyed since we shouldn’t be ”forced” into using one but in all honesty, we aren’t. It’s our choice to use it. Nobody said that we MUST.
I’ve never seen one either other than in an airport. When I did see it, I was surprised I hadn’t heard of them earlier!
It’s a shame you had to deal with that discomfort when attempting to do something as natural as breastfeeding, but sadly right now it’s a really common problem. These pods should help a lot right now, plus the added bonus of true privacy and helpful tools.
It’ll be nice seeing them become more common, and as you say, they don’t NEED to be used – and surely having them available is better than not having them at all.
I have never heard about these lactation pods. I won’t mind using it if there’s one when I need it. Though breastfeeding is a natural activity, I don’t feel very comfortable nursing my baby in public, unless I can find a comfortable seat and quiet place. My baby will be easily distracted, hence if I breastfeed him in public, he might just keep looking around. I always look for baby room where I can comfortably sit in an closed area, so both my baby and I can be relax, though sometimes he might still be distracted by other baby’s sound in another room.
You make a great point – the privacy and seclusion is also great for helping to calm your baby as well, making it easier to relax and feed.
Things have changed so much obver the years since I breastfed my two children. I don’t think these pods are available in my country yet, or at least I’m not aware of them but what an excellent idea.
I fed my children publicly but it was frowned upon in the 80s. These would have been wonderful . When a baby is hungry it’s going to scream which also annoys people so having somewhere private to feed is such a good idea.
Honestly Linda, they aren’t too incredibly common here in the United States either, although I’d expect them to increase in popularity as time goes on, both here and abroad.
It’s a shame you had to experience that when all you were trying to do was feed your hungry child. It’s nice to see progress being made in this area, but we’ve still got a long way to go. For the time being, these dedicated spaces to breastfeed will help a lot of people!
I think this is a wonderful idea, i myself never saw anything wrong with women breast-feeding myself.Although for politically correct purposes i can see this concept being a good idea, for some privacy for women breast-feeding. I think a good addition to the pod would be a TV, mabye they could monitize it with commercials and pay for the pods space in say a Mall or Amusement Park etc. .
I agree with you, nothing wrong with it at all.
Adding some option for entertainment inside these pods would be a good idea, as is your idea to seek out monetization to help bring the costs down. At $11,000 these aren’t a big expense for places like airports or even malls, but for a smaller business – especially one where mothers of babies aren’t a primary demographic, it can be quite a big expense. Anything that can help bring the cost down and make it more available on a larger-scale is likely well-worth it.
I am a senior and so the question of looking around for pods does not arise but I have a whole lot of youngsters around who could perhaps need this facility and I will really talk about it.
Luckily in India breastfeeding publicly is not considered odd and we see it in buses and trains ever so often.
It’s good to know that breastfeeding in public is accepted in your country. That removes some of the discomfort women usually feel when breastfeeding a baby in front of so many people.
Thank God for the invention of lactation pods. I really hope it multiplies because it would mean a lot to breastfeeding moms. As Colene Behag said, breastfeeding in the toilet is not hygienic.
These are adorable! I wish they had these around when I was breastfeeding. I have had to breastfeed in a toilet in a public restroom. Not the most hygienic of places. It is sad that more public areas don’t provide comfortable laces to breastfeed.
You’re right, Colene, a public restroom is not an ideal place for breastfeeding. I really hope government agencies would take notice of these lactation pods and start putting them in public places. It would truly help a lot of breastfeeding moms.
I don’t know why some people dislike breastfeeding in public. While I don’t have anything against the mothers who breastfeed in public, however, I expect that the mothers cover up the breasts completely when they are feeding their babies in public. Breastfeeding pod is a brilliant idea, however, affordability is the main issue. However, these pods can be used by malls where nursing mothers visit regularly and in offices where there are nursing mothers.
Sometimes I wonder what is the taboo in a mother feeding her baby in public and at the same time what in the world is going to make a mother not feel comfortable with feeding her baby in public. These two things baffles me till date.
But anyways, I do find the idea of lactation pod interesting, at least it would cover for those that have issues with breastfeeding their babies in public as well as those that see a nursing mother feeding her baby in public as a taboo.
Wow! It’s nice that the makers of lactation pods really even conceived this idea of making a mobile construction that mothers can stay and feed their babies when they are out of the home. This has shown that better ways of ensuring that the baby is fed well are coming. Also, I understand totally that some moms can even be shy and won’t want to breastfeed their babies in public. So, this a welcome development from them.
usually we do not travel a lot therefore, we never had any issues with breast feeding in public. When ever my wife had to breast feed the baby, she went to the restroom to feed the baby. However, recently, my wife had to breast feed the baby in a open space, in a public place. We were waiting for our bus in a bus stopand we were informed that the buy was being delayed by an hour. The baby began to fuss. My wife tried to sooth, but it did not work. Finally she fed the baby. This was the first time and I remembered lactatio pod as I had read this article a long time ago.