Which US airports are breastfeeding friendly?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

27-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, October 27, 2014More than half of women with children less than a year old are working, and work travel can make breastfeeding a challenge. A study of 100 U.S. airports found that few provided a suitably equipped, private lactation room, even though most described themselves as being breastfeeding friendly, as reported in Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Breastfeeding Medicine website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/bfm.2014.0112 until November 27, 2014.

In "Airports in the United States. Are They Really Breastfeeding Friendly?," authors Michael Haight, University of California, San Francisco-Fresno and Joan Ortiz, Limerick Inc. (Burbank, CA), report that while 62% of the airports surveyed answered yes to whether they were "breastfeeding friendly," only 37% provided a specific lactation room. In only 8% of the airports did that designated space offer the minimum requirements of not being used as a bathroom and having an electrical outlet, table, and chair. These included San Francisco International, Minneapolis-St. Paul International, Baltimore/Washington International, San Jose International, Indianapolis International, Akron-Canton Regional (OH), Dane County Regional (WI), and Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional (FL) airports.

"This study presents provocative data about our airports," says Ruth Lawrence, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine. "The good news is that 62% think they are 'breastfeeding friendly.' The bad news is that their actions do not support the claim. There is a lot of work to be done to make travel possible for breastfeeding dyads."

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About the Journal

Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, is an authoritative, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal published 10 times per year in print and online. The Journal publishes original scientific papers, reviews, and case studies on a broad spectrum of topics in lactation medicine. It presents evidence-based research advances and explores the immediate and long-term outcomes of breastfeeding, including the epidemiologic, physiologic, and psychological benefits of breastfeeding. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Breastfeeding Medicine website at http://www.liebertpub.com/bfm.

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Which US airports are breastfeeding friendly?