Abstract— Breastfeeding is not only valuable for babiesbut also beneficial for mothers, thus this kind of activityshould be done appropriately. In fact, many women havereported to feel uncomfortable when they have tobreastfeed in public areas, even doing it with dueconsideration. Privacy, time, distance and accessibility toreach the proper lactation room in public spaces becomethe main problem; since breastfeeding is considerablyhard to do in public facilities.High demand on private space for breastfeeding motherin public facilities urges research within many aspects inaddition to the design elements, such as, Psychology,Physiology and social aspects. This paper is aimed tocompile a design guideline for breastfeeding pop-upspace in public facilities. Specifically, Airport and TrainStation (non-commercial space) will be examined further.To fulfill breastfeeding mothers’ needs, pop-up design isone of the answers for their needs; consequently, mothersare able to breastfeed in public spaces convenientlywithout being limited by surrounding, time, distance andaccessibility. The design proposal is arose from theresearch; Lactation Spaces in Urban by Suryantini et al.Finally, this lactation pop-up space is expected to increasethe breastfeeding culture in public and generate acomfortable surrounding for mothers.

Index Terms— Breastfeeding, Pop-up Space,Portable Architecture, Public facilities.

I. BREASTFEEDING IN PUBLIC

Breastfeeding is part of a woman’snormal health life cycle and itfacilitates her body to reach its fullhealth potential. This is a processthat takes time to master, thus itshould be supported by many aspects,especially the surrounding. A goodsurrounding will positively influencea breastfeeding mother to produce milkfor her child. On the other hand, anegative experience from thesurrounding could cause an infection

and finally decrease breast milkproduction. Hence, a supportivesurrounding is needed by mother andinfant to have a wonderful and joyfulexperience of breastfeeding.

Regarding to urban life demand,especially in the city, mothers haveactivities outside home. In terms ofthis, it is not easy to dobreastfeeding in public facilities dueto the different perception onbreastfeeding in the community.Despite other people reaction tobreastfeeding mother is not alwaysdecent, harmful reaction does stilloccur occasionally. In Indonesia,breastfeeding is still deemed as anactivity that needs to be done in aconcealed location. Thus, the need ofenclosed space that cannot be seen byother people becomes essential forbreastfeeding mothers. However, thereis a government policy, PP No 33/2012that requires the community to support6-month exclusive breastfeeding,either in the form of corporatepolicies to provide opportunities fornursing mothers or provision oflactation rooms.

As previously discussed with regardsto the examination of breastfeedingspace particularly in publicfacilities, this discussion consistsof several considerable issues, suchas privacy, convenience and safety.Relationship with other people,distance, time and accessibilitybecome factors that need to beexamined further, what kind of

Pop-up Space for Breastfeeding Mother in Public Facilities

Nevine R. Kusuma, S. Ars, MA.1, EniraArvanda, ST, M.Dipl2, ElitaNureny,S. Ars3

123Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia

dimension and partition required forsatisfying the lactation activity 1

Furthermore, the demand ofbreastfeeding space in publicfacilities is relatively high,especially for places that are aimedfor mother, kids or families. Thus,those facilities, which are visited bythem for more than 2 hours, shouldhave breastfeeding spaces. In thispaper, Soekarno-Hatta Airport andGambir train station would be examinedbelow.

II. DESIGN BY RESEARCH

Design by research is used tounderstand the complexity of problemswithin the study area. By separatingthe human needs, behaviors, andperspectives within the area,practical methods are applied todefine strategic physical discovery.The characteristic of design byresearch was initially established asprimarily research into the process ofdesign, including work concerned withthe context of designing and research-based design practice2. By its verynature, the design is aimed at problemsolving by intervening in a particularway.

The design involves a lot more thansimply creating an attractive world ofobjects, and further deliberationshould be given to this fact in thefuture. Therefore, a good designprocess is essentially a user-centereddesign process, research conducted onuser should ideally provide the basisfor a design effort3.

1 Suryantini et al., 2012.

2 Bayazit, N., 2004

3 “Good design happens only when designers understand what users are trying to accomplish—the

users’ goals and tasks—and how the users think about their tasks—the users’ conceptual model of

the work and tools.”—JoAnn Hackos and Janice ‘Ginny’ Redish. Research and Methodology for

Interior Designers. Paper written and prepared by Robert Haddad, Associate Professor of Design,

FAAD, at Notre Dame University, Lebanon.

Basically, reviews of scholarlyresearches are used to generate newideas and approaches to designproblems. “Design is directed toward humanbeings. To design is to solve human problems byidentifying them, examining alternate solutions tothem, choosing and executing the best solution”.User-centered design is, by nature, aniterative process, so what we discoverthrough user research and usabilitytesting often dictates the way aproject should proceed4.

The arguments in this paper analyzethe needs of breastfeeding mothers inSoekarno-Hatta Airport and GambirTrain Station. Research andobservation of what they actually needhas shown that privacy, time, distanceand accessibility become importantfactors that support lactation inpublic spaces. The proposed finaldesign is based on individual parts ofthose factors. The discourse offers afascinating approach and discourses tothe practice of pop up space that fitsto the context and fulfill user needs.The proposed design is then furtherdiscussed as regards its form,material and system.

III. BREASTFEEDING IN SOEKARNO-

HATTA

AIRPORT

AND

GAMBIR TRAIN STATION

Based on the field observation atSoekarno-Hatta Airport and GambirTrain Station, breastfeedingcloth/apron is widely used as mother’sbody cover during lactation activityin the public spaces, however thisstuff still causes prevented movementand makes baby feel restless due to4 Gabriel-Petit, P., 2010.

Figure 1 and 2 Inside the nursing room ofSoekarno-Hatta International Airport (above)

and the facade of nursing room of GambirTrain Station (below)Source: field survey, 2012

the reduced fresh air supply and heatgenerated by increased mother and babyskin contact. However, in both ofthese places have the nursing room,though a very narrow area (less than1.71m2, around 55-65 cm, which is themost comfortable space for nursing)5,barely enough space for circulation,therefore the privacy while nursingbabies is not assure

Moreover, Gambir Train Station hasonly one nursing room located at thewaiting room of intercity platformsand it is locked most of the time.Furthermore, in Soekarno-HattaAirport, this space is located insidewomen restrooms in domestic terminaland terminal 1A, 1B, and 1C withoutclear signage. Therefore, locating thenursing room in Soekarno-Hatta Airportfor the mothers is considerablydifficult and creates an unpleasantnursing experience.

Lack of signage, unclear locations,and narrow space are impeding mothersfrom fulfilling their needs to nursetheir babies in time, especially inthe Airports and Stations where theyonly have limited time. This conditionwill cause breastfeeding women to feelinsecure and exposed, especially whenstrangers are sitting or standing tooclose to them and create crowding6, acondition which can affect hormonesand subsequently human’s reproductionsystem. In addition, packed space andlow quality of air circulationgenerate less privacy and unpleasantnursing condition as well.

5 Suryantini et al., 2012.

6 Hall, T. Edward, 1966.

To answer those problems, an idea toelaborate pop-up breastfeeding spacein Soekarno-Hatta Airport and GambirStation has emerged. Due to itstransformability and portability7 8,the idea of pop-up space arose. Thetransformable element in pop-up spaceis beneficial to achieve privacyduring breastfeeding; it can befolded, hanged, or basically poppedout of nothing and gives enoughcoverage.7 Macdonald, Marie-Paule, 2012.

8 Handa, Rumiko, 2012.

Figure 3 An example of pop-up space in publicarea (urban) of Utrecht, Netherlands. It was

designed by Carmela Bogmann and Rogier Martens.It created from modules and can be easily

erected by anyone who need it by using hydraulicsystem

last accessed on 13/08/2013

In line with the explanation above,some elements are to be considered:1. Light-weighted material isrequired, hence, the transformationprocess can be done in a very shorttime. Most materials used in creatingpop-up space are fabric, polyester,polyvinylchloride (PVC), processedwood (plywoods and MDFs), and lightmetal such as stainless steel.Compared to light-weighted material,those materials have high durabilityas well—since it could be assembledand dismantled many times—easymaintenance9, safe for children, andeasy to produce.2. Design must be portable,intended for easy building on site10,which means that this furniture isable to minimize the space consumptionin public space. It must be adaptablein various sites11, easy to access,iconic, and has thermal comfort (lackof air circulation will make babiescrying).3. Light-weighted yet strongstructure is needed to create a solidpop-up space. The structure should becreated from small parts (modules)12

also for easy installation anddismantle on site.4. Sense and perception of user areessential as well. User must feelvisually protected duringbreastfeeding from strangers’s eyes13

while not completely isolated to watchover their belongings. 5. Safety is another issue. Thespace should not be misused by non-breastfeeding mothers and no one wouldbe able to steal all/some parts of thepop-up space. The design shouldconsider the night time use as well.

9 Kroenenburg, Robert, 200.

10 Ibid, p.1

11 Ibid, p.16

12 Ibid, p.1

13 Tumbelaka, 1981.

IV. DESIGN PROPOSAL

Selection of feeding positionrequires comfort and flexibility thataffects the physical (body posture andreadiness) and psychological (feelingrelaxed and comfortable) condition, aswell as setting conditions whilenursing. As mentioned previously, amother’s psychological conditionbecomes very essential due to theactivity of the prolactin and oxytocinhormones that stimulate alveoli cellswith functions of producing breastmilk.

Sitting and leaning back on thechair are the easiest and commonpositions for breastfeeding mother inpublic facilities. However, based onthe research conducted by suryantiniet al.(2012), sitting position withoutthe support on the back may cause backpain for mother. Therefore, the chairfor breastfeeding mother should haveback support to avoid any back pain.

Figure 4 S. Colson.Maternal BreastfeedingPositions : Have We Got It Right?.The Practising

Midwife. Vol.8 no.11. December 2005, p.29-32

Figure 5 Minimum Space required forBreastfeeding mother

Source: Suryantini et al., 2012, Lactation Spaces in Urban, Jakarta

Figure 6 Design concept (above) and final designproposal (below)

Illustration: Arvanda, 2013

Figure 7 Design proposal : a nursing pod thatcould be integrated easily with any existing

seating furniture at public facilities and couldbe modified into single or communal

breastfeeding space.

Illustration: Arvanda, 2013

Figure 8 Design proposal – Pop-up Space forBreastfeeding Mother in Public Facilities :train station (above) and airport (below)

Illustration: Arvanda, 2013

Figure 9 Technical specification of nursing pod

Illustration: Arvanda, 2013

V. CONCLUSION

The amount of lactation spaces andits placement inside the buildingdepends on the amount of visitors andbuilding area in total. The morevisitors and the bigger the buildingmeans higher demands of lactationspaces. For instance, in a wide-spanbuilding as Soekarno-Hatta Airport, itwould be ideal to have severallactation rooms at certain points andevery floor. Consistency of lactationroom placement next to circulation orservice area would accommodate the wayfinding, thus mothers will find suchrooms easily. The use of signage, map,logo or catchy color is a factor thatis relevant for finding the way tolactation spaces.

REFERENCES[] Suryantini et al. (2012) ‘Ruang

Laktasi di Kota: Kebutuhan danKeberadaan Ruang Laktasi PadaFasilitas Umum, hibah riset tahun

2012, Rini Suryantini, “unpublishedpaper” .

[2] Bayazit, N (2004) 'InvestigatingDesign: A Review of Forty Years ofDesign Research', Design Issues, 20(1), 16-29

[3] Gabriel-Petit, P (2010), Design isA Process, Not A Methodology,http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2010/07/design-is-a-process-not-a-methodology.php#sthash.esyc4mia.dpuf (20 July 2013)

[4] Hall, T. Edward, 1966, HiddenDimention, New York

[5] Tumbelaka, 1981 quoted fromSuradi, Rulina “Bunga RampaiMenyusui dan Rawat Gabung”, 1989.

[6] Kroenenburg, Robert, 2003,Portable Architecture, p. 1,Elsevier/Architectural Press,London