The Taj Mahal is adding a breastfeeding room for nursing moms

Scenes of India
Getty Images | Julian Finney

There’s good news for new moms in India! This coming July, the Taj Mahal will open a dedicated breastfeeding room on the premises.

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built between 1621 and 1648 by emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, who died in childbirth. Located in the city of Agra, the Taj Mahal is a UNESCO heritage site, and it attracts as many as 8 million visitors annually.

According to the Archeological Society of India, this will be the first dedicated nursing room at any of India’s monuments.

An official from the ASI explained that he was inspired to create a dedicated room for nursing mothers after seeing a woman hiding under some stairs trying to feed her baby.

“I could see it was difficult for her (to feed the child), which is a basic motherhood right,” said Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, according to Reuters. “So I thought, we have to do something.”

Where You Can Breastfeed In Public

For parents who breastfeed, it can be a struggle to find clean, comfortable and safe locations in which to do so. While breastfeeding in public is legal throughout the United States, many mothers still experience rude comments from strangers who demand that they “cover up.” Others are routinely asked to go into a bathroom in order to feed their child. Some women experience more extreme verbally assaults while feeding their children.

breastfeeding photo
Getty Images | Andrew Burton

Some locations — like airports, co-working spaces and malls —are finally beginning to incorporate lactation rooms into their buildings. Some of these spaces were created under the companies’ own initiative while others have been required by law.

Additionally, a company called Mamava created a mobile app that helps parents find lactation spaces around the world. The company also builds portable, private pods that companies can use for nursing employees or visitors.

The forthcoming breastfeeding room at the Taj Mahal is particularly welcome news for women who live in India, as it is a conservative country where public breastfeeding is not always welcomed.

In  2018, an incident at a mall in India made headlines when a mom trying to nurse her baby at a mall was asked to do it in a public restroom. When the mother called out the mall on Facebook, a representative for the business responded by writing to her “please make sure you do your home chores at home or atleast [sic] plan it beforehand.”

The post continued, “It’s not like your baby needs to be breastfed at any moment …”

The mall later apologized for the post.

Have you experienced pushback when breastfeeding in public?

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