The best nursing room in Singapore is the one that you can find with ease at a time when you most need it!
According to Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Education Low Yen Ling, more facilities to encourage breastfeeding are going to be made available for nursing mothers. More schools in Singapore will have a lactation room for mothers to either breastfeed or express their milk, over the next three years.
The announcement was made in Parliament yesterday (March 26) in response to a question by Mr. Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) about current breastfeeding-friendy facilities, and if the government could make it obligatory for all schools and educational institutions to have at least one lactation room.
All schools in Singapore to have lactation rooms to be utilised by nursing mothers. Photo: iStock
Best nursing room in Singapore? One that is nearest to you
All schools to have lactation rooms
In Singapore, currently 85 per cent of primary schools, 65 per cent of secondary schools and 90 per cent of junior colleges, have lactation rooms on their premises.
“For the remaining schools, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will progressively provide lactation facilities where feasible over the next three years,” Ms. Low noted.
She further added that all institutes of higher learning are already equipped with breastfeeding-friendly facilities, and that such features are now a standard building specification for MOE.
MOE to provide more breastfeeding-friendly facilities over the next three years. Photo: iStock
In response to being asked by Mr. Ng if the nursing facilities provided were specifically for the purpose of lactation and not just a spare room, Ms. Low answered that the necessity of a lactation room has been part of the building specifications for primary schools as part of their upgrading, since 2010.
Similar arrangements were also made for secondary schools and junior colleges.
She also added that as a mother of two children both of whom she breastfed for slightly over a year, she understood the importance of external features such as nursing rooms when it came to being able to “persevere on the breastfeeding journey.”
“MOE will certainly continue to work with the existing schools to ensure that all schools will have lactation rooms at the nearest feasible date,” she added.
Breastfeeding in public – not illegal in Singapore
Breastfeeding in public is not an offence in Singapore. It is not required for nursing mothers to cover up when nursing. Photo: iStock
Mr. Ng further asked in Parliament if there were any rules currently prohibiting mothers from breastfeeding their children in public, and if mothers are allowed to nurse their children on board public transport, on buses and trains.
In response, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs Sun Xueling reported that there is no law against breastfeeding in public.
“Indecent exposure and appearing nude in public are criminal offences. Mothers who are genuinely breastfeeding their children in public are generally unlikely to fall under these categories,” Ms. Sun replied.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Transport Baey Yam Keng further added that in addition to public breastfeeding not being an offence, mothers were not required to cover up while nursing on public transport.
“For those who prefer privacy for breastfeeding, we provide nursing rooms at key transport nodes, and we’ll continue to build more,” he further noted.
Meanwhile, in a written response to Mr. Ng’s question about breastfeeding-friendly facilities available in public, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan further noted that in addition to 50 per cent of bus interchanges already hosting such facilities, the Government will provide nursing rooms at all new bus interchanges and integrated transport hubs, as well as new MRT interchange stations.
