Thousands of heartfelt notes spring up in airport breastfeeding pods nationally

Audrey Gelman was overwhelmed and stressed Wednesday, traveling away from her 10-week-old son and trying to figure out how to navigate the demands of new motherhood while catching a flight.

At LaGuardia Airport, she spotted a Mamava pod — a private space set up for breastfeeding or pumping — and ducked in before her flight.

Inside, she found an unexpected chorus of support from other moms cheering her on.

“Be kind and gentle with yourself. YOU ARE ENOUGH,” one note said. “You are literally sustaining life with your incredible milk. Super-hero type stuff!!!” another said.

“LaGuardia’s, like, the last place in America I thought I’d have this kind of a sentimental experience,” says Gelman, CEO and co-founder of The Wing, a women’s coworking space and social club. “But I was moved. I think it was just this amazing moment where women I’d never met before were telling me exactly what I needed to hear.”

Gelman had unknowingly tapped into a trend of hidden encouragement that has spread into lactation rooms at airports and train stations around the country.

“It’s kind of a phenomenon,” says Christine Dodson, chief operating officer and co-founder of Mamava, the company that has put 152 of these portable suites in 57 airports.

Dodson said she first heard about moms leaving one another notes in the spaces at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport about a year and a half ago. She’s aware of similar happenings at other major hubs, and a company spokeswoman said the same thing has happened at train stations.

“We were just really psyched to see it happen organically,” she says.