City of Cambridge Participatory Budgeting

Committee: Community Resources → Public Health

Cost: $60,000

Location: City Hall, Central Square

Short Description: Place a Mamava breastfeeding pod for parents in City Hall.

Long Description:

This proposal would place an wheelchair-accessible Mamava breastfeeding pod in City Hall, where it would be publicly available during City Hall open hours for anyone who needs a place to breastfeed or pump breast milk in privacy and comfort. These funds would be used to complete a feasibility study for the site in City Hall, as well the cost of the pod itself.

Cambridge Public Library’s Main Branch currently houses a Mamava pod on their mezzanine level, and library staff report that the pod is heavily used by parents visiting the library with their children. In many of Cambridge’s commercial districts, public bathrooms are not always readily available, and those that are available may not be as clean or as private as desired for breastfeeding. Providing a second pod location at City Hall would make City Hall, and Central Square in general, more accessible to parents who otherwise might not be able to take advantage of city services or other amenities while caring for a newborn or young child.