Miami International rolls out amenities for moms
The perks are piling up at Miami International Airport (MIA).
MIA recently added a pre-security yoga studio and opened the first of four post-security, indoor pet relief areas.
And on Thursday (Sept. 1), MIA is having a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome its newest passenger amenity: eight stand-alone “lactation stations,” or suites, for nursing moms.
The suites are made by the Burlington, Vt.-based Mamava company and are self-contained, mobile pods 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.
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Designed for individual use, the 4-foot by 8-foot units can fit a mom as well as her carry-on luggage and any babies or other children she may have in tow.
“Airports, are noisy hectic places and these units will provide a sanctuary for a mother to sit and nurse a distracted baby — while containing a busy sibling — and a clean, dignified place for moms to use their breast pumps,” said Mamava CEO Sascha Mayer. “They will make life easier not only for traveling breastfeeding moms, but for the breastfeeding mothers who work at the airport as well.”
MIA’s eight lactation suites are located through all six of MIA’s concourses (see map for locations) and are branded as “MIAmamas.” Pronounced ‘mia mamas,’ it also translates to ‘my moms’ in Spanish.
“As the second-busiest U.S. airport for international passengers and (with) 40% of our passengers making connections, travelers spend more time on layovers at MIA than at airports that serve mostly origin-destination passengers,” said airport spokesman Greg Chin. “This makes the nursing suites a natural fit for MIA.”
Even before the suites opened to passengers, MIA heard kudos from moms.
“I follow the @MIA Facebook page and noticed that you are preparing to install nursing units and tears of joy filled my eyes,” said Anna Katerina Tischenko in an email to MIA. “The two times I traveled with my kids when I was in the process of breastfeeding and pumping I got many looks of disgust and uncomfort…The nursing units at MIA, for many mothers and families, will mean more than a private place for us to take care of our families’ immediate needs.”
MIA is the 15th airport nationwide to install self-standing nursing pods for mothers, but the first to install so many.
Other airports with at least one nursing pod on-site are: Atlanta (ATL); Austin (AUS); Boise (BOI); Burlington (BVT); Jacksonville, Fla. (JAX); Milwaukee (MKE), New York JFK’s JetBlue T5 (JFK); New York LaGuardia (LGA); Manchester, N.H. (MHT); Newark Liberty (EWR); Key West, Fla. (EYW); Oakland (OAK); Palm Beach, Fla. (PBI); San Antonio (SAT); and Spokane (GEG).
Around the country, many other airports, including Minneapolis-St. Paul International, Dallas Love Field, Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Washington Dulles and Washington Reagan National airport have set aside or built special spaces inside concourses and terminals for nursing moms.
source :http://tinyurl.com/jcpbype