RESPECT NURSING MOMS

Create space where women can pump

Sixty-two of America's 100 busiest airports consider themselves "breast-feeding friendly," according to a 2014 study. The real number was six.

Researchers for the journal Breastfeeding Medicine surveyed airports about their accommodations for nursing mothers. Of the 62 that gave themselves high marks, 25 of them said their "lactation room" was the family restroom.

Only eight of the airports surveyed had such a room — and at two of them, it was outside the boarding area, on the other side of the security checkpoint. If you don't understand why that's a problem, ask a breast-feeding mom.

Or ask U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. Since her daughter's birth in November, she's been dismayed at the lack of suitable nursing spots as she shuttles between her Illinois district and her office in Washington. She's sponsoring the Friendly Airports for Mothers Act, which would require major airports to provide lactation rooms.

We hate to think it would take an act of Congress to get airports to follow suit. But we've watched for years as governments at all levels took steps to require accommodations for nursing mothers. More and more mothers are insisting on their right to do what comes naturally, wherever they are. Let the squeamish look away. But pumping is another matter. In the U.S., more than half of women with a child under a year old work outside the home. If they're breast-feeding, they need a private place to express their milk.

The Affordable Care Act requires most employers to provide an area — not a bathroom — where women can pump, and to allow them breaks to do so. Many states have laws that go further, such as requiring a refrigerator in the workplace.

Duckworth is right : That doesn't help mothers who are traveling. It also doesn't help when they're at the mall, the ballpark or the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The authors of the Breastfeeding Medicine study argue that lactation rooms should be added to the design standards for buildings under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Here's a better idea: Step up, America. Show Mom some respect. Stop telling mothers to go pump in a unisex bathroom, while other parents and babies line up outside, waiting to change a diaper. Create a private space for breast-feeding moms — not because it's the law, but because it's the right thing to do.

A customer service rep for one airport told the researchers that lactation rooms "are as important as free Wi-Fi." We don't need to conduct a survey to tell you which is more common.

FROM AN EDITORIAL IN THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE