A round of articles on the many hurdles facing women who breast feed and/or pump breast milk shows just how inconvenient this activity is in a world designed, so it would seem, with only men in mind. Sara J. Welch notes in a recent New York Times article:
“Several working mothers spoke of looking for a place to pump breast milk. Often, a bathroom was the only option.”
Sure, accommodations can be made and if you’re a working mother traveling, many institutions will make arrangements for, say, a private room to be reserved, but even so arrangements must be made. These activities, which are hardly luxurious, are simply not incorporated into public space; breast feeding is not taken into account by designers of airplanes, airports, office buildings, or public spaces.
Which is remarkable if we recall the adjustments that have recently been made in, say, airports, to incorporate simple technological changes, or security protocol, or even for entertainment. Many airports now have private laptop booths, or cubicles in which phone calls can be made — and yet there is no space for breast-feeding.
