2025 Breastfeeding Friendly Place Awards

Published on August 29, 2025

Allegheny County Celebrates Breastfeeding Champions with 29th Annual Breastfeeding Friendly Place Awards

PITTSBURGH – In celebration of National Breastfeeding Month, the Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD) WIC Program and the Allegheny County Breastfeeding Coalition (ACBC) proudly hosted the 29th Annual Breastfeeding Friendly Place Awards, recognizing exemplary support for breastfeeding across workplaces and public spaces. 

This year’s winners include Thermo Fisher Scientific (Workplace), Pittsburgh International Airport (Public Space), and OneValley at the Roundhouse (Business). 
 
“This year, we had more nominations than ever,” ACHD WIC's Breastfeeding Coordinator, Madeleine Putzi, states. "So many of the nominees thoroughly impressed us and we want to recognize how wonderful it is that there is communal support for our breastfeeding parents and babies. Our winners really set the bar high for excellent accommodations." 
 
Thermo Fisher Scientific offers their employees three dedicated lactation rooms. These rooms have a height adjustable rolling table, a comfortable chair that can swivel and recline, a mini fridge for milk storage, outlets and a sink. The facility goes the extra mile by including expectant mothers parking out front, free water bottles in the room, sharpies for milk collection bags and cleaning supplies. Additionally, the breastfeeding policy is sent to employees when they request maternity leave. “Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Pittsburgh office has been proud to offer Mothers Rooms since 2009 and upgraded the rooms in 2022,” said Michelle McKernan, Thermo Fisher Scientific Human Resources Manager. “The rooms also include bulletin boards, where colleagues can share messages and encouragement, enabling colleagues to connect during this pivotal time in their lives.”

Pittsburgh International Airport has three nursing rooms located at: Concourse A near Gate A5, Concourse B near Gate B7, and Concourse D near Gate D4. The rooms include infant changing tables, a sink, a comfortable chair and ottoman, a bottle warmer, mirror, outlets, a diaper pail and adjustable calming lighting. Creating lactation rooms was one of the first initiatives by the airport’s CEO, Christina Cassotis, when she arrived in January 2015, three years before Congress passed the Friendly Airports for Mothers Act in 2018. '

OneValley at the Roundhouse is a coworking space which offers breastfeeding rooms for any of the space’s 100 members and employees. The mother's room is equipped with a small fridge, ample counter space, a comfortable chair and a rocking chair, side tables, outlets and a large sink. The space can be booked through the virtual calendar. Overall, the neutral tones, ambient lighting, live plants and visual art, contribute to its relaxing environment, an often-overlooked aspect that helps mothers' express milk. “As an all-female team, we wanted to make sure that our nursing members had special accommodations in their transition back to the workplace and when visiting for events,” explained Sarah Blazincic, the Innovation Center Director. “It has comforted quite a few new mothers in our 3.5 years being open. We are very proud of it!” 

These honors spotlight community leaders working to normalize and support breastfeeding in everyday spaces. Nominations for the 2026 awards will open soon, with winners announced during next year’s National Breastfeeding Month. 
 
The awards align with the Plan for a Healthier Allegheny (2023 – 2027), the county’s community health improvement plan. The plan aims to increase human breastmilk feeding and increase the number of infants who receive human breastmilk for eight or more weeks.  

The Health Department hopes to see more infants exclusively breastfed for the first six months and continued breastfeeding with the addition of solid foods for at least the first year of life. To help with this effort, ACHD is also expanding access to Pacify, a 24/7 telehealth app offering free, real-time support from lactation consultants and doulas to all pregnant and lactating individuals in Allegheny County through the end of 2025. For details on how to secure a year of membership, please visit ACHD’s recent Pacify promotion or Pacify.  

ACHD's WIC Program promotes breastfeeding as the gold standard of infant nutrition and continually strives to increase breastfeeding frequency and exclusivity rates with program participants. The WIC Program supports its participants by offering prenatal and postpartum breastfeeding education, resources/referrals, and breast pumps to eligible WIC mothers. This year, ACHD's WIC Program started the Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program. The program is currently subcontracted under Healthy Start, Pittsburgh, and has plans to expand its program to designate all eligible WIC mothers (pregnant and breastfeeding) with a breastfeeding peer counselor by the end of 2026. For information on how to apply for the program, residents can fill out a pre-application or call 412-350-5801. 

ACHD’s Office of Family and Child Health offers services aimed at ensuring that Allegheny County’s youngest residents grow up healthy, including breastfeeding resources like the Breastfeeding Help Line. The Breastfeeding Help Line can be reached by calling 412-687-2243. It is staffed by registered nurse-certified lactation counselors and internationally board-certified lactation consultants. Families can call the Help Line Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Outside of those hours, residents can leave a message, and a representative will call them back the next day. 

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The Allegheny County Health Department's mission is to protect, promote, and preserve the health and well-being of the more than 1.2 million people who call Allegheny County home. 

Media inquiries may be directed to Ronnie Das,
Public Information Officer for the Health Department,
at ronnie.das@alleghenycounty.us or by phone at 412-578-7991.