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It's a very happy World Breastfeeding Week for moms in New York City.

The city debuted its first "lactation pods" — or mobile rooms for nursing — in five locations throughout the city, with about 25 more to be constructed in the coming year, according to NY1.

The rooms, which are about four feet by eight feet and come with benches, a table, electric outlets for pumps, and a locking door, will help fulfill a law passed last year mandating some city offices to provide private nursing areas for moms, according to the report. 

There will be 30 pods built around the city in total, at a cost of about $20,000 each, according to DNA Info.

 One already exists in a place with high demand: the Brooklyn Children's Museum. 

"When I went inside, it's very comfortable, it's very soothing, there's air on," Jane Xia told NY1.  "It's a great little space."

The city's health commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett, said the city wanted to encourage breastfeeding, especially in communities with low rates. 

"Part of making mothers comfortable is giving them more opportunities to have safe space to breastfeed," Bassett said. "Part of it is letting people know that they are entitled to breastfeed."

Other locations for the "pods" will include the hospitals in Queens and Harlem, the Bronx Zoo, and the Staten Island Children's Museum, according to the report.

The rooms are built by a company called Mamava which specializes in lactation suites and has already built many at airports, on university campuses, and even in shopping malls around the country. 

The pods aren't mandatory — by New York City law, women have the right to breastfeed in public wherever and whenever they choose. But the pods do provide privacy and comfort for those who want it, the commissioner said.

News

Demand Equity

New York City Is Building 'Lactation Pods' for Breastfeeding Moms

By Colleen Curry