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Bath Iron Works installs pumping pods for working moms

Like many moms, Megan Blake will have to balance work and providing milk for her daughter.

BATH, Maine — At 11-weeks-old Cecilia, is the newest member of the Blake family. Mom, Megan, is getting ready to go back to work.

"It's difficult. We go back to work full time but we're still providing meals full time for our babies," she said.

Like many moms, she's prepared to pump on the go. With her first child, Emerson, who is now 3, she pumped breast milk in a conference room at work. Even though she was able to lock the door, it wasn't ideal.

"I got walked in on one day, security came in and opened up the door. It kind of made me nervous to pump then on out."

Things will be different this time though when Megan returns to work in a few weeks. She works at Bath Iron Works, the first Maine company to install Mamava pumping pods for employees.

She saw them at the airport several years ago.

"I got on Google and I was like, 'what is this?'"

Mamava Lactation Pods are the creation of a company based in Burlington, VT. With the tap or swipe of a smartphone, moms can locate and lock the pods through the Mamava app.

With hundreds of free-standing lactation rooms across the country, the company was the brainchild of two working moms from Vermont who were fed up with having to find make-shift pumping spots.

For moms like Megan Blake, returning to work after having a baby can be tough. But she says there's comfort in knowing she can pump in peace.

"It's great that they're supporting pumping mamas who work."

While Bath Iron Works is the first employer to install the Mamava pods there is a new law, taking effect in a couple of weeks that's said to better protect all working moms in Maine. 

In June, the governor signed an Act to Protect Pregnant workers. The law also changes the language from "pregnant woman" to "pregnant person." 

RELATED: Bill aims to protect pregnant workers from discrimination

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