Oh what a lovely evening. I hope you're experiencing copious amounts of namastè, and that your Tuesday was productive and cohesive. I'll sum my excitement up in one funny little word.
Mamava.
I've been doing a lot of research on breastfeeding and what protections the law provides. Normalizing is the action of the day, and companies everywhere are revising their policies to protect moms who simply want to feed their babies.
MAMAVA.
I found Mamava on Facebook and was immediately impressed and intrigued.
Oftentimes a breastfeeding or pumping mother will have anxiety about attending events, concerts, or even going to the airport, because feeding your baby or pumping in a bathroom is at best no fun and at worst, possibly unsanitary. Not all public restrooms are accommodating or have large enough stalls and for pumping moms, there may not be an outlet available.
Mamava, in a show of incredible solidarity and straight out awesomeness, saw this need and filled it beyond measure. They created MAMAVA PODS, which are comfortable, private, climate controlled tents, portable structures, and inflatables that offer nursing and pumping mothers a safe, clean, private place to nurse or pump. (Following images are all property of Mamava and the Mamava Facebook page.)
This company has gone above and beyond to help normalize breastfeeding while accommodating the desire for privacy. The pods and inflatables are popping up all over, and if you visit the website you can actually nominate a location!
Breastfeeding can be difficult enough at home. The sheer anxiety about feeding in public, coupled with a lack of suitable accomodation, more than adds to the steep drop in women who are able to breastfeed for six months and the even steeper drop in breastfeeding beyond the six month mark.
Personally, I have pumped and nursed everywhere. I often plug up in the car and pump, but I've done it on the subway in NYC, as well as on ferries and even a cruise ship. I nurse my son without abandon as well. However intrepid I may be, even in all my bold get-it-done'ness, I prefer to nurse or pump in a private, clean space. My baby will eat regardless of where he is, directly from the mom tap if he prefers, and I refuse to risk suffering a drop in supply simply due to lack of accomodation--but not all moms have my attitude about it. Not every mother is comfortable enough to just take a spot where one wasn't created.
Thanks to Mamava, we don't have to. They have given us a safe, comfortable, private space to feed our infants without stares or judgment from the uninformed. The pods and inflatables have seating and a little spot for your bag or pump, as well as a power source. Nurse and charge your phone, or pump using your adaptor and save the battery pack for another time.
Baby Namastè and I endorse it 100%. So much so that he is sporting his Mamava onesie today!
Namastè!
- Tayè K.
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