August is National Breastfeeding Month and the 2026 U.S. Breastfeeding Committee theme is RISE: Resilience, Interdependence, Self-Determination, Empowerment. Advocates want policy, systems, and environmental changes to create breastfeeding support for every family, and the City of Philadelphia is on board. We are making breastfeeding and pumping easier for working parents by providing lactation spaces citywide. This is an ongoing priority to support parents wherever they live, work, travel, and access City services.
The City has made major investments in physical lactation spaces since passing a law, proposed by Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, ensuring City-owned buildings have them. A parent may need a private place to pump during the workday, but they may also need an expert to answer a question about pumping, help with breastfeeding, or additional resources.
The Department of Public Health plays an important role in that work by connecting families with breastfeeding and lactation support as part of its broader family health services. City health centers offer breastfeeding support, and the Health Department helps connect parents to resources that support healthy pregnancies, infants, and families. Buildings across the city offer lactation spaces for use to the public.
Through the City’s lactation support resources, Philadelphia families can access free, on-demand support from lactation consultants and infant-feeding experts through Pacify. The City also provides MamaVa pods for the public to use in some Center City buildings and the Philadelphia airport. The City’s Lactation Space Finder is an online tool to help parents locate private, safe, and clean places to pump or breastfeed in City facilities.
Together, these efforts reflect a broader approach to supporting families: providing both the places and the people that parents need.
Designing Spaces With Parents in Mind
A lactation space should not simply be a room that happens to be available. It should be a space where a parent can take care of their child’s needs comfortably, privately, and with dignity.
The Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) shares examples of how the City is thinking about lactation support beyond the workplace. PHL’s work demonstrates how thoughtful design can make public spaces more welcoming and accessible to families.
Creating Consistency Across City Workplaces
The City is applying those same principles to its own workplaces.
As departments identify and develop lactation spaces, the City is working toward greater consistency in what employees can expect. Spaces should provide privacy and security, comfortable seating, a clean and welcoming environment, an electrical outlet, and a surface where employees can safely place a breast pump and other supplies.
We are also training City employees as Lactation Space Coordinators, to make sure the spaces are easy to access and available for use. These details may seem small, but they can make a meaningful difference to an employee who needs to pump during the workday.
The goal is to make lactation support a consistent part of the City workplace experience, whether an employee works in an office, a public-facing facility, a public safety environment, or other City location.
