[Image: CannonDesign]
Lactation rooms are no longer a nice-to-have perk for working mothers–for many companies, they’re required by law.
But just because lactation rooms became an architectural requirement for companies with more than 50 employees with the passage of the Affordable Care Act doesn’t mean they’re well designed. Many working women are still forced to pump in closets, shower stalls, and multipurpose wellness rooms, which can send the message that being a professional is not compatible with being a mother. These spaces have become ad hoc lactation rooms because offices weren’t designed to accommodate proper spaces for pumping moms.
A new lactation room concept called Sona aims to solve this problem. Created for our series Provocation, Sona is a mobile pod designed to make pumping a private, pleasant experience for working moms. The stand-alone pod fits a lounge chair, sink, and four small refrigerators. Unlike most lactation rooms, which are physical rooms, Sona is a mobile unit that can be placed anywhere in the office–or in other kinds of public spaces, like airports or parks–whenever a woman needs a place to pump.