The Best Cities for Breastfeeding

Cartoon of landmarks from cities around the United States, along with a hand holding up a breastpump

Sometimes it seems we’re a divided nation with nothing in common but baseball and apple pie, but every corner of our country has a city committed to supporting breastfeeding moms at work and on the go. While the federal FLSA’s PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act now offers protections for all breastfeeding employees, and a number of states have even better levels of support (discover the best states for breastfeeding here), these cities are still breast in class.

Baltimore, Maryland

As of 2019, Baltimore employers with two or more full-time employees must provide lactation accommodations (including break time and a private lactation space) for breastfeeding employees. The lactation space cannot be a bathroom or a closet and must be in “close proximity” to the employee’s work area. Read more about Maryland’s breastfeeding laws.

Madison, Wisconsin

Dane County, home to Madison, is the second largest county in Wisconsin. In 2014 they passed a resolution requiring every county-owned building to provide a lactation space (other than a bathroom) that could be used by both the public employees who worked there and visitors to the spaces. While resolutions are not laws, per se, they matter because they express the clear will of the legislative body. And while every state has legislation to protect a mother’s right to breastfeed in public, Mad City takes it a step further with a breastfeeding ordinance that slaps a fine on anyone who tries to stop or interfere with a breastfeeding mother.

New York, New York

New York City law requires lactation spaces in departments that provide public services for families such as the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Administration for Children’s Services, and the Department of Social Services. In 2018, The Big Apple’s City Council also passed ten new bills—called The Mother’s Day bills—to improve services and support for moms and families. One of these new laws (Int. 879-A) requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide a dedicated lactation space (not a bathroom) for all employees. The other law (Int. 905-A) requires employers to provide breastfeeding employees with a written lactation accommodation policy to ensure moms know about their workplace rights. Both laws went into effect March 18, 2019. NYC’s local laws are in line with the rest of the state’s progressive legislation that ensures support for all nursing moms, including those in prison. Read more about New York’s breastfeeding laws.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Known as The City of Brotherly love, Philadelphia is also the city of motherly love. The city of Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance requires all city employers to provide breastfeeding employees with reasonable break time and a private and sanitary space (other than a bathroom) to pump at work.

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas and home of the Alamo. It’s also a great city to work for if you’re breastfeeding. Their workplace lactation policy mandates a private space (not a bathroom) to pump for all public employees—from interns to full-time employees. The city employs almost 12,000 people! The best part? The city also provides hospital-grade breast pumps in city lactation rooms.

San Francisco, California

In 2018, San Francisco was the first U.S. city to implement a city-wide lactation law requiring all San Francisco employers to provide break time and a lactation space (other than a bathroom) to all breastfeeding employees. The law also set minimum standards for lactation spaces, requiring that the space be clean, include a chair and a surface for a breast pump, and be located near a sink and a refrigerator where moms can store their milk. In addition, all San Francisco businesses must have a written lactation accommodation policy that outlines the process for requesting workplace support. (As a state, California is top-notch for breastfeeding. Read more about California’s breastfeeding laws.)

Last updated: March 1, 2023

Mamava designs solutions to empower breastfeeding and pumping parents on the go, like our freestanding lactation pods, Mamava’s lactation space locator app, and other helpful resources.