HALLIE EPHRON: I was with Hank, making our way to our gate at the Fort
Lauderdale Airport a few weeks ago (on our way back from Sleuthfest) when we
spotted it. . .
The little windowless, wheel-less trailer with its outside
walls painted with sky and clouds, stopped me in my tracks. Everyone else
walking by stopped to gawk, too.
Of course, being a mystery writer, I was instantly curious.
The sign on the door says Baby Oasis, and the door (I tried
to get in, of course, at which point Hank said I had the makings of an investigative reporter) had a fancy combination lock that you needed an app to
open. Since I couldn't get inside, I had to go online to find a photo of
the interior.
It looks pretty basic. White plastic. A bench, a charging station, a changing table. Presumeably
lighting. Hopefully lighting.
Still, the idea of going inside with my baby and shutting the
door? Locking us in? Nuh uh.
But maybe I'm out of touch. After all, it's been a a long
time since I nursed my babies, and back then it was far less common than it is
now.
And I had to wonder when I saw this little box with a door on it: Is this to protect mothers and their babes from prying eyes, or to avoid offending the delicate sensibilities of other passengers. (To me, the sight of a baby being discreetly breastfed is less offensive than the omnipresent CNN feeds.)
And I had to wonder when I saw this little box with a door on it: Is this to protect mothers and their babes from prying eyes, or to avoid offending the delicate sensibilities of other passengers. (To me, the sight of a baby being discreetly breastfed is less offensive than the omnipresent CNN feeds.)
Pumping is a different thing entirely. I don't think portable breast pumps had been invented when I had my babies, and it was unusual for a baby moms to
work and travel and breastfeed. Pumping is not
something I'd be comfortable doing at a crowded departure
gate. And camping out in the Baby Oasis does seem a cut above trying to pump, crammed into an airplane bathroom.
So what do you think? Hip hip hooray or a royal raspberry for Broward County
for installing lactation suites (yup,
that's what they call them) in the airport?
My take? An enthusiastic thumbs-up, as long as no one's forced to use them. And I've now filed it in an idea-compartment: the perfect place to hide a body in a busy airport. Provided you've downloaded the app.
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My take? An enthusiastic thumbs-up, as long as no one's forced to use them. And I've now filed it in an idea-compartment: the perfect place to hide a body in a busy airport. Provided you've downloaded the app.
