Mothers will now be able to breastfeed in the first municipal lactation station in Suffolk County.
Health officials and County Executive Steve Bellone unveiled the nursing room at the Dennison County Office Building at a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate Women’s History Month.
“It is our responsibility to make sure that women have the facilities that they need to be able to be comfortable and to be able to be in the workplace,” Bellone said.
Private employers are mandated to provide lactation rooms under the Affordable Care Act, and government offices are beginning to catch up.
Dana Calandra, a mother who attended the event, said she believes that there continues to be a stigma attached to breastfeeding in public.
“I didn’t breastfeed my twins in public. I would have to sit on a bench or something, and this is a great room. You could do it freely in the comfort behind a closed door just like you’d normally do at home.”
The nursing room offers refrigerators, electrical outlets for breast pumps and comfortable seating.