Patrice Meagher, a Gladwyne native and mother of four, knows when you are a parent that time is at a premium and managing it properly is essential, writes Lizzy McLellan Ravitch for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

That is why she launched her startup, MilkMate, in 2020. Her company helps employers create fully equipped lactation spaces for their breastfeeding employees.

“We’re looking to save women 45 minutes to an hour a day,” Meagher said.

Milkmate did its first installation in the Philadelphia region and it was a homecoming for Meagher who is a graduate of the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur.

While federal law required employers to provide pump breaks and a private, non-bathroom space for lactation, Meagher says that is just the bare minimum of what breastfeeding parents.

To conveniently express milk, they also need an electrical outlet, the ability to clean and store pump parts, and a refrigerator for storing the milk.

MilkMate installations include all of this as well as a comfortable seat and a table. The start-up has also developed a multiuser, closed-system breast pump that uses single-use recyclable pump parts and milk collection bags.

With the multi-user pump approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, breastfeeding employees don’t have to lug their own pump to work every day.

Read more about MilkMate installations in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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