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How businesses are using designated areas to help lactating mothers

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How businesses are using designated areas to help lactating mothers

Interior of a free-standing lactation pod

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Interior of a free-standing lactation pod

Mamava

When Johnathan Fowler had his first child in 2014, it was the first time he realized how hard it can be for new parents to breastfeed.

“I was completely uneducated,” Fowler told Morning Edition’s Michel Martin.

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Fowler remembers his wife nursing in her office when she went back to work after having their first child. Sometimes she’d use the bathroom to get some privacy. That’s when Fowler decided his a car dealership with locations in Oklahoma and Colorado, would offer employees a different experience.

“I think the personal became the passionate for me,” Fowler said.

Fowler installed eight designated lactation spaces in 2021 for his employees and customers to use — two years before a new law that makes designated breastfeeding stations available across American workplaces.

The PUMP Act, which went into effect April 28th, expands protections for people who chose to breastfeed. The bipartisan law passed in December as part of the omnibus bill. Previously, the 2010 Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act required businesses to provide a designated area and break times for hourly workers to nurse. The new law extends these protections to salaried workers, like nurses and teachers. It also allows workers to sue their employers if they do not abide by this rule.

The Center for American Progress estimates that this act will expand breastfeeding protections to an additional nine million women in the United States.

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A Fowler Automotive employee standing next to one of eight the lactation pods Jonathan Fowler purchased.

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A Fowler Automotive employee standing next to one of eight the lactation pods Jonathan Fowler purchased.

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“This normalizes that women and women’s bodies belong in all industries, and are worthy of respect,” said Liz Morris, deputy director at the Center For WorkLife Law. She helped draft the model legislation that the PUMP Act is based on.

The U.S. has no national policy requiring paid parental leave. Through the Family and Medical Leave Act, most parents are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave. But since many can’t afford to go that long without income, some parents return to work while they are still nursing.

About 83% of parents start out breastfeeding their children after birth, according to 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.. By the time kids are three months old, 69% are breastfeeding, falling to 56% at six months.

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Morris said parents are often forced to make tough choices: follow their healthcare provider’s recommendations for giving their baby human milk, or continue to work and earn an income.

“That is an impossible and inhumane choice that no person should have to make,” she said.

Sacha Mayer, the CEO of Mamava, which creates freestanding lactation pods for businesses and public spaces said that having a designated area prevents women from pumping in unsanitary areas, like she had to do when she was a young mother.

“The default was often in a restroom, Mayer told NPR. “And that was essentially making food for a human in a place that’s being used for the opposite.”

Mayer said having these designated areas can help new parents returning to work feel like their workplace understands their needs.

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“When you are breastfeeding, it’s like an additional job,” Mayer said. “By having a space your employer is communicating that they support you that this part of your life is important.”

Exterior of a Mamava Pod

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Exterior of a Mamava Pod

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Businesses are not required by the PUMP Act to buy a lactation pod. They just have to designate an area for breastfeeding, which means an empty office or supply closet could be repurposed as a nursing area. There are no size or equipment requirements for the room.

For Fowler, a lactation-specific room was what he wanted for his staff but it came with a higher cost. These pods have surfaces made of non-toxic materials, so breast milk can’t be contaminated, benches and charging stations can cost anywhere between $10,000-25,000. Fowler paid for all eight lactation pods for his businesses without federal subsidies or support. The PUMP Act does not offer grants or tax write-offs for the costs of setting up a designated nursing area.

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“I think that it’s important that the government is trying to incentivize small, locally owned businesses that maybe can’t afford these types of things, and try to help them be able to provide these opportunities,” Fowler said.

Amra Pasic edited the audio version of this story. Erika Aguilar edited the digital version.

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Hiking North Carolina's Linville Gorge Wilderness area

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Hiking North Carolina's Linville Gorge Wilderness area

Linville Gorge is sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the East. It sprawls over 12,000 rugged acres on U.S. Forest Service land in western Tennessee, but ssome trails are accessible enough for a quick day hike.

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I set off mid-afternoon into the Linville Gorge Wilderness near Morganton, North Carolina. Right from the trailhead I found dense groves of mountain laurel with bouquets of delicate pink flowers, as if the path were decorated for a wedding.

The sun was hot, the trail dusty and steep in places. Birds cartwheeled around me, flitting from trees to undergrowth, sometimes close enough to touch.

Mountain laurel grows along the trail in the Linville Gorge Wilderness.

Mountain laurel grows along the trail in the Linville Gorge Wilderness.

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I love escaping like this on a work day. When I travel on assignment, I’m always looking for a bit of wildness that can be reached without a lot of hassle or planning. Sometimes it’s as simple as a city park or a public garden.

One minute I’m at my desk on the job, tense and caffeinated. The next minute I’m breathing a little easier, smelling summer, feeling the touch of spiderwebs on my face as I walk.

In the Linville Gorge, wildness is found in big sweeping vistas and in tiny details, buzzing bees, stands of flowers, and lots of stillness.

In the Linville Gorge, wildness is found in big sweeping vistas and in tiny details, buzzing bees, stands of flowers, and lots of stillness.

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At first blush, places like the Linville Gorge can seem a little intimidating. The area is vast and rugged

On this day I hiked one of the easiest routes, with only a few steep stretches. It took me quickly into a high forest perched at the edge of the gorge that felt completely solitary.

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From balconies of rock, I couldn’t see any human structures. Horizon to horizon there was only wildness and sky and curtains of cliff that look like old castle walls.

The Linville Gorge is framed by formations of rock that look in places like old castle walls. In season, peregrine falcons next here. The area offers some of the most popular hiking trails in the eastern U.S.

The Linville Gorge is framed by formations of rock that look in places like old castle walls. In season, peregrine falcons next here. The area offers some of the most popular hiking trails in the eastern U.S.

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There were little details too, close enough to touch. A trickle of bright cold water in a mountain stream, a black snake coiled in the sun, a Luna moth peeling itself from a cocoon.

When I stopped to catch my breath, I realized there were bees everywhere, foraging eagerly in the mountain laurel.

A Luna moth emerges from its cocoon on an early summer day in North Carolina.

A Luna moth emerges from its cocoon on an early summer day in North Carolina.

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It was getting on toward evening when I turned back. The light was golden. As I trekked down, it was silent enough that I could hear the wind in the trees and the cheerful ruckus of Carolina chickadees flocking over the mountain.

Some of the best hikes are the ones that take you to overlooks like this, in Burke County, North Carolina, without lots of effort or time.

Some of the best hikes are the ones that take you to overlooks like this, in Burke County, North Carolina, without lots of effort or time.

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Two-thirds of council-funded youth centres in England closed since 2010

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Two-thirds of council-funded youth centres in England closed since 2010

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More than two-thirds of council-funded youth centres have been closed in England over the past 14 years, owing to a prolonged squeeze on local government finances, according to research by Unison.

The union, one of the UK’s two largest, said in a report published on Saturday that 1,243 youth centres had been shuttered in the period since the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government took office in 2010, leaving only 581 in operation.  

The collapse in youth services has put teenagers “at risk of isolation and of being swept into gang and knife culture”, Unison warned and called on the next government to prioritise rebuilding the network.

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“In the past, youth centres were able to help keep teenagers on the right path, providing guidance and advice to youngsters who perhaps weren’t getting any support at home,” said Mike Short, Unison lead for local government.

He added that more than a decade of cuts to services had “undone much of the previous good work”.

Local government budgets were among the hardest hit in the period after the financial crisis when David Cameron’s government slashed funding to the public sector as part of its austerity policy.

While councils have received a funding boost in recent years, overall they are still roughly 20 per cent worse off in real terms than they were in 2010, according to official figs.

The Local Government Association, representing councils in England and Wales, forecast last week a funding gap of £6.2bn over the next two years driven by rising costs and demand for adult and child social services and for tackling homelessness.

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The LGA said shortfalls in government funding have left councils with less money to provide to other services. Youth services have been especially hard hit.

Unison said the number of youth centre closures in some areas ran into double figures, with Tower Hamlets council in London shutting 57, and Birmingham city council, which declared de facto bankruptcy last year, reducing its total by 42.

The closures have created a “lost generation of young people”, the union said in its report.

Community leaders and local government officials in Leicester during unprecedented violence between young Hindus and Muslims in 2022 warned that the decimation of youth services had left them with limited understanding of how young people’s lives were evolving.

The Department of Culture Media and Sport, which oversees youth services, said it could not comment because of rules governing the general election campaign.

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But officials noted that the government committed in 2022 to spend £500mn over three years to ensure “every young person in England will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home, and volunteering opportunities”.

Building and renovating 300 youth centres formed part of the goal.

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Firefighter killed in explosion while battling fire near Palmdale

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Firefighter killed in explosion while battling fire near Palmdale

An explosion killed a Los Angeles County firefighter and injured another while they were battling a fire near Palmdale Friday.

The incident happened at a quarry near the 6500 block of East Avenue in Littlerock at around 2.p.m., fire officials said.

Sky5 videos of the scene showed a large tractor, described as an articulated front loader, with flames still visible near the engine and heavy smoke billowing from the vehicle.

Officials confirm the firefighter killed was a 19-year veteran who was assigned to a four-person engine and worked in the Palmdale area. His identity was not yet released.

A body located on a dirt mound near the smoking vehicle was seen covered by an American flag.

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A second firefighter sustained minor injuries and was transported to the Antelope Valley Medical Center. He will be released later Friday night.  It’s unknown what initially caused the fire.

Fire crews responded to the scene. By 6: 30 p.m., they were still dowsing the smoking vehicle and working to extinguish the flames.

“He was a wonderful man,” said Anthony Marrone, L.A. County Fire Department Chief, of the victim. “He was married, he’s a father and it’s just such a tragedy.”

The incident will be investigated by the LASD’s Homicide Bureau and the Arson Unit.

“We grieve in solidarity with our brothers and sisters with the Los Angeles County Fire Department,” said LASD Commander Mark Reyes.

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“My heart is heavy to learn that one of our firefighters lost his life when responding to a call in Palmdale,” said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “My deepest condolences to his family and the other firefighters at Station 93. It’s a sobering reminder of the dangers our first responders face every day. We owe them our steadfast support as they grapple with this loss. I’m committed to ensuring our Fire personnel are connected with needed mental health support as they grieve.”

A press conference where officials provided an update can be viewed in the video player above.

This developing story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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