Nursing a baby in an airport is about to get a little easier, thanks to the passage of the Federal Aviation Administration Act Oct. 5. Included in the bill is a mandate for all large- and medium-sized airports to provide public lactation rooms.

The law was a bipartisan effort led by Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, the first senator to give birth while holding office. Duckworth introduced the Friendly Airports for Mothers (FAM) Act in 2017 with Republican Representative Stephen Knight of California.

Duckworth wrote about her experiences breastfeeding while traveling in an op-ed in Cosmopolitan last year, saying, “While I was comfortable breastfeeding my daughter in public, I did not want to express next to strangers using the same outlets to recharge their electronic devices. At many airports, I was redirected to a bathroom, forced to pump in a bathroom stall.

“We would never ask our fellow travelers to eat their sandwiches in a bathroom, but there I was, expressing milk for my child on a toilet seat.”

Airports could previously open lactation rooms at their own discretion. Some did, but most failed to provide adequate facilities. The new law provides strict guidelines for the room’s location, privacy and other requirements.