Amtrak announced Tuesday it will open lactation suites for nursing mothers in five major train stations, an effort to provide comfort and privacy for traveling families.
The lactation suite will open at D.C.’s Union Station on Wednesday. Similar suites are planned to open soon in stations in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Chicago, as well as New York’s Penn Station.
Designed by a Burlington, Vt.-based company named Mamava, the mobile pods were inspired by two women who saw an opportunity to provide nursing mothers with clean, comfortable spaces for nursing their babies.
“After having pumped at trade shows, airports, corporate retreats, baseball games, and even the back seat of a male client’s car, we decided enough was enough,” Mamava founders Christine Dodson and Sascha Mayer wrote on their website.
“This project was motivated by our personal experiences as working, nursing moms, and by all the friends and colleagues and the thousands of women who have shared their experiences and frustrations with us.”
The company currently has 450 mobile pods around the country.
They measure 5 feet by 9 feet and are outfitted with comfortable benches, a fold-down table, an electrical outlet for plugging in a breast pump, and a door that can be locked for privacy, Amtrak said.
The lactation suite in D.C. will open Wednesday and be available for customers while suites in the other locations — Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore — will open later in the month.
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