New privacy pod is a hit with breastfeeding baseball-loving moms

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — At just the touch of a button, a new lactation space at People’s Natural Gas Field is giving moms an easier way to take their newborn out to the ball game.

On Friday, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the Mamava Lactation Pod located behind the second level seating at PNG Field. The ADA-compliant pod was made possible through a partnership between the Altoona Curve, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and the Blair County Breastfeeding Coalition, and is made of hospital-grade materials, making it easy to keep clean.

Alison Keating, a nurse and lactation consultant at UPMC Altoona, stressed the importance of pods like this one, explaining that it can give busy moms “wrangling a baby and a toddler”, or moms that might just need a break a quiet moment of privacy while breastfeeding or pumping. However, she hopes that pods like this one do not make breastfeeding taboo and instead will encourage the belief that breastfeeding is welcome anywhere.

“Pods, dedicated spaces out in the community are terrific and they really provide evidence that the community supports what’s best for young families. But we also need to be very welcoming and very inclusive to families who want to breastfeed wherever and whenever,” Keating said.

Keating also explained that breastfeeding has many health benefits for not only baby but for mom as well, reducing her risk of breast cancer, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The pod operates through the Mamava app which allows nursing mothers to locate any available pod in their area, see which pods are currently in use and unlock an available pod for use themselves, again enforcing that the pod’s purpose is to give women the power to promptly find a private space to breastfeed or pump, something Megan Alwine, a certified lactation counselor with the Blair County Breastfeeding Coalition, knows first-hand is crucial for breastfeeding moms.

“I have a seven year old and a three year old, and I’ve tried nursing at games and it’s always busy. There’s a lot of commotion happening and I have asked for private spots to go to, but, you know, we noticed that you kind of ended up in a random room,” Alwine said.

She explained that by giving moms the ability to unlock the pod, they will no longer be reliant on a member of the field’s staff to find and unlock a private room for them.

While there is currently only one Mamava Lactation Pod at PNG Field, and in the Altoona area, the Coalition hopes that should the need — and the funding — exist, more pods can be implemented throughout the community.

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Representatives with UPMC and the Blair County Breastfeeding Coalition said Friday’s ceremony couldn’t have come at a better time as August is National Breastfeeding Awareness month.

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