LIRR introduces plan for private lactation spaces

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A woman uses a Mamava lactation pod, similar to the one that will be installed in the Long Island Rail Road’s waiting room at Penn Station. Photo courtesy of Mamava

A woman uses a Mamava lactation pod, similar to the one that will be installed in the Long Island Rail Road’s waiting room at Penn Station. Photo courtesy of Mamava

By Jonathan Sperling

Moms will no longer have to choose between feeding their children and commuting via the Long Island Rail Road, after the commuter rail system unveiled plans for a private space for those who are breastfeeding inside Penn Station.

Lactation pods will be installed at the LIRR’s customer waiting room by this fall, LIRR President Phillip Eng announced earlier this week. The pods will be made available upon request by speaking to a waiting room attendant.

The pod, which is made by the Burlington, Vermont-based company Mamava, is fully accessible by the standards set by the Americans With Disabilities Act and will feature bench seating, shelves, mirrors and coat hooks, occupancy-activated lighting and dual-outlet USB ports.

The LIRR noted that Queens Assemblymember Nily Rozic and Long Island Assemblymember Kimberly Jean-Pierre, both LIRR customers themselves, had recently requested the transit system make accommodations for breastfeeding mothers. 

A total of 24 LIRR stations exist in Queens, with some, such as Jamaica, considered major system hubs.

“My approach to operating the LIRR is to put safety and customer service first,” Eng said in a statement. “When customers request a change that we can accommodate, if we can do it reasonably, we will make that change.”

A Dreamscape pod, which will soon be installed in the Long Island Rail Road’s waiting room at Penn Station, allows for nursing mothers to breastfeed in private.

A Dreamscape pod, which will soon be installed in the Long Island Rail Road’s waiting room at Penn Station, allows for nursing mothers to breastfeed in private.

“I’m glad that in this case we were able to find a way to put this in place relatively quickly. I hope it makes traveling with us easier and more pleasant. I hope it will let more New Yorkers choose the LIRR as a form of travel,” he added.

Mamava has already placed 19 lactation pods in Queens, including six in LaGuardia Airport, and 11 in JFK Airport. The company also has a pod at Citi Field, and one in both Queens Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital for Children. The pods are open to the public and moms can access them with the free Mamava locator app.

A Mamava spokesperson told the Eagle that the company has ramped up its installation of the lactation pods recently thanks to the passage of nursing mother-related legislation at the state level.