In the year since the PUMP Act took effect, the share of organizations offering an “onsite lactation/mother’s” room has risen to 73%, up 19 percentage points from 2023, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) 2024 employee benefits survey.
The federal legislation, which requires employers to provide nursing employees with breaks, as well a private space free from intrusion, prompted an uptick in interest from potential customers for lactation pods, Sascha Mayer, Mamava’s co-founder and chief experience officer, told HR Brew.
Pumping pain points. Mamava installed its first lactation pod, in the Burlington International Airport, in 2013. Mayer and her co-founder, Christine Dodson, wanted to solve a “pain point” they’d encountered in their careers while working for a brand design agency, “which was loving our jobs, wanting to go back to work, but having no dignified place to use a breast pump,” Mayer said.
Soon after launching in the airport, Mamava started working with employers, installing lactation pods in a couple of colleges and in back-of-house at a grocery store. As of August 2022, the company had installed about 2,000 pods across the US and Canada, according to a newsletter from Fresh Tracks Capital, a Vermont-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in Mamava. Mamava has raised nearly $7 million in seed funding to date, according to Pitchbook data.
With the PUMP Act taking effect, Mamava has seen not only additional customer inquiries, but also new competitors coming onto the scene—both developments that are welcomed by Mayer. “Competition is a good sign that you’ve actually built a market,” she said. Other companies in the space include Nessel, which sells furniture for lactation rooms, and Brighter Booth, which makes mobile lactation pods.
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Intentional design. At SHRM’s annual expo in Chicago, Mamava had two pods on display for potential customers. One, called the “Flex,” provides space for either breastfeeding or pumping, with room for both a refrigerator and another child who might be in tow. A smaller, more affordable unit on display was designed specifically for pumping, and could be used as a temporary fix for employers that need more capacity, Mayer said.
For employers that need to comply with the PUMP Act, Mayer said she sees the pods as a quick “infrastructure solve,” given her team can set up the spaces in two to four weeks. She said Mamava tries to set itself apart from other solutions on the market by emphasizing their pods are “intentionally designed for the act of pumping and breastfeeding,” featuring details like carpet and soft materials.
Though most organizations now offer some sort of lactation space, SHRM’s research indicates just 13% offer other lactation support services, such as consulting and education. Some studies suggest investing in such support can result in positive outcomes for companies’ workforces, such as low turnover and retention.
“We know that this time in a parent’s life is often a time of quitting, especially if they’re not feeling welcomed or accommodated or being able to be their full self,” Mayer said.