Atlanta airport adds private pods for breast-feeding mothers

ATLANTA (AP) – Authorities at the world’s busiest airport say four lactation pods are now available for nursing mothers as they travel.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Wednesday announced the additions. Officials say they can be locked from the inside and provide bench seating, a small diaper-changing table and an electric outlet for pumps.

The stations are inside security checkpoints. The airport said in a statement that construction will soon begin for a pre-security nursing room.

Aviation General Manger Miguel Southwell said the airport found that there was “a real need for these pods.”

Atlanta is following a nationwide trend. Within the past couple of years, governors in California and Illinois signed laws requiring major airports in their states to have private rooms for nursing mothers.