Indian Museum plans separate nursing room for lactating moms

Kolkata: Indian Museum will probably be the first museum in the country to have a separate room for lactating mothers. The “mother and child room” at the museum will be unveiled on Sunday March 14 that is celebrated as Mother’s Day across the globe.

“We have been observing for quite some time that young mothers who visit the museum with lactating infants face a lot of problem in breastfeeding their children or having a little bit rest as the museum is crammed. The mother and child room will be located at the ground floor adjacent to our education officer’s office,” museum director Jayanta Sengupta said.

“We have been taking a lot of steps for making the museum friendlier to the visitors. Visually-challenged visitors who cannot see the treasures of the museum will soon be able to touch and feel replicas of some of the artefacts and read about them in Braille signages,” an official said.

Australian senator Larissa Waters made history by becoming the first politician to breastfeed in Parliament. She breastfed her two-month-old daughter Alia Joy during a vote in the federal Senate chamber.

Institutions such as Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington and the Field Museum in Chicago have nursing rooms where women can breast feed or pump.