“Locking breastfeeding women in cupboards” – People are debating ‘nursing pods’
A couple of years ago Miami Airport installed breastfeeding pods for nursing mothers. They aim to provide a safe space for women to express milk or feed their babies in, but not everyone thinks these pods are a good idea.
“Weird and sad”
A Mumsnet user shared a photo of one of these pods – spotted while she was travelling through Miami – and wondered if “locking breastfeeding women in cupboards” was a bit “weird and sad”.
Some mums thought this was a brilliant idea, having endured tricky feeding circumstances that made them long for privacy.
“I had a baby with a tongue tie and latching problems,” one mama wrote. “Had to get out my whole breast to feed in public and found it excruciating. I would have loved a pod like this for those early days.”
“Well they aren’t locking breastfeeding women in a cupboard though are they?” another woman reasoned. “They are giving breastfeeding women the option to have a private space to breastfeed in if they choose to use it.”
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“I would absolutely use it,” a woman posted. “My daughter is almost 2. She likes to unlatch so she can smile and wave at every single person walking past. When she was younger I was happy to feed wherever, whenever. But these days my nipples spend more time hanging out getting fresh air than in her mouth.”
I think many of us have been there!
Divided opinions
Lots of people thought that it was cool that women had a choice to feed in private, for whatever the reason.
“The distracted baby thing is really a secondary issue,” one woman asserted. “The main one is that a lot of women don’t want to expose their breasts in public. Trying to force them to will just see declining breastfeeding rates.”
But one mum thought this was a step backwards in the fight for equality and acceptance.
“While I appreciate that some would be glad of this space, and not minimising personal feelings on experiences of public feeding, but I can’t help think patriarchal society hasn’t half done a number on women,” she wrote.
Boob-flopping?
Surprisingly some people still thought breastfeeding women should not be in the public eye.
“People who are eating or having a drink in a cafe or public area do not want to see woman flopping their boob out to feed. Yes it’s natural and yes, it is normal but that’s not something EVERYONE wants to see,” she suggested. * insert side-eye *
The brilliant team who make these pods are all about helping busy mums feed their babies more easily on the go. These pods are not designed to stop women feeding in public, but rather to get women who are currently using the bathroom or public parents’ rooms into a much nicer space. These are definitely NOTHING like a cupboard, more a tiny temporary home, in our opinion!
And for what it’s worth, we love anything that makes breastfeeding women feel comfortable and supports them in their quest to feed their babies. So if these lactation pods are that for lots of women, then they get a huge thumbs up from us.
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