Mothers get private spaces for breastfeeding at Seattle airport

Mothers are offered private spaces for breastfeeding at Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport.

SEATTLE — Nursing suites are private, hosting one mother at a time, and have a power outlet, table and seat large enough for mom and child.

The Mamava suites are rounded, white pods. They're available for breastfeeding or pumping moms, offering a clean and private space.

The airport has always offered a mother care area in the kids' play area.

“It’s one of the most used areas of the airport,” Port of Seattle Commissioner Courtney Gregoire said of the first mother care area. “We’re tripling this amount of space.”

That amount has since increased.

There are now seven Mamava pods installed at the airport.

When airport officials monitored use in the pods over a period of time in October, 2017, the Concourse C unit averaged 11 visits daily, the Concourse D, A and North Satellite Train Station units averaged eight to nine visits, and the South Satellite unit averaged five visits per day.

"As a mother of two children, it is personally important to me that Sea-Tac is a welcoming place for moms and their families,” Port of Seattle's Gregoire said.

There are also Mamava pods at the Spokane International Airport, North Seattle College, the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island, the Madigan Army Medical Center, the Washington Army National Guard at Camp Murray, the District Court of Spokane County, Overlake Hospital and Seattle Children's Hospital.

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