This Brand New Law Will Make Pumping in Airports a Zillion Times Easier For Moms

Great news for breastfeeding mamas: the Friendly Airports for Mothers Act (FAM), a law that ensures women will have access to lactation rooms in airports, passed this month. And yes, we got calmer just thinking about it.

Tammy Duckworth, a senator (the first to give birth in office!) and mom of two known for breastfeeding her little one while on the job, originally introduced the bill — which will ensure a private space in airports for breastfeeding moms with a place to sit, a table, and an electrical outlet — in 2015. After the House of Representatives passed the law last year, FAM finally got approved from the senate once Republican Deb Fischer and Democrat Claire McCaskill cosponsored the bill.

"I had to stick to a feeding and expressing schedule, including when I was at the airport, but I quickly realized that finding a clean, accessible, private space was stressful and inordinately difficult," Tammy Duckworth wrote of her breastfeeding and pumping experience in a 2017 op-ed for Cosmopolitan. "While I was comfortable breastfeeding my daughter in public, I did not want to express next to strangers using the same outlets to recharge their electronic devices. At many airports, I was redirected to a bathroom, forced to pump in a bathroom stall."

As soon as the bill passed, Senator Duckworth expressed how happy she was on Twitter, writing: "I'm so proud my bipartisan FAM Act was signed into law. This long-awaited law will help improve children's health and help hardworking mothers across our country find clean and accessible spaces to express breast milk when traveling."

We have to agree, this is a huge win for moms!