Breastfeeding 'Pod' Unveiled At Atlantic Terminal

PARK SLOPE, NY — New mother Eveline Chang-Fritsch found herself planning her day around where she could pump breast milk after she returned to work. She pumped in public restroom stalls, closets and even friends' offices.

There just aren't many private places for mothers like Chang-Fritsch, a Prospect Heights resident, to breastfeed or pump as they trek across Brooklyn and New York City.

"As all-new moms, we shouldn't have to feel like we have to advocate for ourselves every day, everywhere we go," she said.

But Chang-Fritsch's commute likely will become easier after a public unveiling Monday. Long Island Railroad, MTA and Brooklyn officials that day highlighted a new "lactation pod" within Atlantic Terminal —a daily stop along Chang-Fritsch's commute every day.

Mamava, a company which provides lactation "suites" for public places, provided the pod. The small, curved-walled pod sits in the station's waiting area.

A door code lets mothers inside where they have the option of sitting at two benches. The interior also includes a fold-down table and an electrical outlet for plugging in breast pumps. Mothers can also control the lighting and amp up white noise through the Mamava smartphone app, said Mamava director of national accounts Sam Hart.

The pods are designed to be clean and private for mothers.

"These are really food stations," he said. "They're food prep areas."

Chang-Fritsch and Hart stood behind LIRR President Phil Eng as Eng announced the pod's opening. Eng said it's the second such Mamava "suite" in a LIRR station — the first opened in Penn Station.

More could be installed, depending on how much mothers use the ones already opened, he said.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who spearheaded efforts to open lactation and breastfeeding spaces in municipal areas, told the crowd that mothers shouldn't feel like criminals for the most natural of experiences.

"This pod is saying to the mothers of this city and this borough that you are welcome —breastfeeding is allowed here," he said.

The officials showed off the pod after their remarks, but attention focused on Chang-Fritsch's 7-month-old daughter, Olympia. The youngster looked equally at home in front of cameras and within the pod's soft light.

"She's the star of the show," Chang-Fritsch said.

About 450 visitors have used the pods in the Penn Station waiting room since they were installed in August, officials said.

The Atlantic Terminal pod can be found in the station's waiting room. Mothers can ask agents at the station's ticket window to sign them into the pod.