From left, Hy-Vee dietitian Kylene Etzel, Clinton Parkway Hy-Vee Store Director Tara Jo Brown, and Beth Sakumura and Cora Koch of Mother's Milk Kansas prepare to cut the ribbon outside the new Mother's Room at Hy-Vee, 3504 Clinton Parkway, on Friday, May 6, 2016. The room is open for nursing mothers and parents of small children to tend to their families' needs while they're grocery shopping.

Kelly Jacques is relieved: She can now take both her kids to the grocery store with a lot less stress.

Now if her 6-month-old son gets hungry in the middle of her shopping trip, she won’t have to worry about trying to nurse him in the car or finagling a makeshift arrangement in the store somewhere — she’ll be able to feed him in a gliding rocker while her 2-and-a-half-year-old plays nearby.

“If we’re in the middle of the grocery store and he starts crying, it’s probably because he’s hungry, so it’d be great to have a space to be able to feed him so that we could go back and resume our shopping,” Jacques said.

Hy-Vee at 3504 Clinton Parkway on Friday opened a Mother’s Room, intended for nursing mothers and parents of young children.

Decorated in pastels and located between the family restroom and the pharmacy, the room houses a gliding rocker, ottoman, changing table, and a children’s table and chairs, according to Jan Hornberger, the store’s marketing coordinator.

Jacques, of Lawrence, was very pleased to hear about the store’s new addition. She was already a regular at the Clinton Parkway Hy-Vee, but she said now she’s much more likely to take the kids with her.

Jacques said it’s really nice that the store is able to show support for breastfeeding mothers by providing a space like this.

“I understand that not (every business) is able to and that’s OK by me,” Jacques said, “but having that space, it means a lot to someone like me who is breastfeeding to have somewhere to go in the middle of this busy area to make sure that you can care for your child’s needs first and easily.”

Cary Allen, peer breastfeeding counselor with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said she knows of several businesses in the area that are supportive of nursing mothers’ needs, but outside of the Hy-Vee and the health department building, she doesn’t know of any others that have a designated space for them.

“I think (the room) kind of reassures moms that the choice she’s made to breastfeed is something the community is supportive of,” Allen said. “… But what we need to focus a little bit more on is that support after she’s made that decision. That’s why I really appreciate businesses like this that are making that effort to support breastfeeding moms.”

There are now 60 Mother’s Rooms in Hy-Vee stores throughout the company’s eight-state region, Hornberger said in an email.

“The purpose is to reduce barriers to breastfeeding by providing a private, quiet place to feed their children,” she said. “Customers’ expectations are changing and schedules change with busy parents, and it is important to create a space for parents.”

Allen said she’s not sure whether this is a trend or something that we’ll see more of in Lawrence soon, but she has noticed one effect she finds encouraging.

“What I’m starting to see now is really an acceptance of all mothers and realizing that there are challenges with being a new mother; accepting people where they are and whatever choices they’ve made, and respecting the fact that they are doing whatever is best for their family,” she said.

In June 2015, Lawrence became the first community in the state to receive the Community Supporting Breastfeeding designation from the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition. It’s given to communities that meet several criteria, including having 25-plus businesses that participate in the “Breastfeeding Welcome Here” program, 20-plus child care providers that have completed a course in supporting nursing mothers, and various other community resources.

The list of businesses that support breastfeeding in Douglas County is quite long, and names several popular spots downtown.

The Breastfeeding Coalition of Douglas County, of which Allen is a member, also has compiled a list of other resources for nursing moms. That list is attached to this article.