A nursing clothing company is pitching emergency kits containing shirts to help mothers breastfeed discreetly and comfortably even in public, with more local municipalities opting to stock the packages for use at times of natural disasters.
Mo-House Co., a company based in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, has been working on the issue as mothers tend to face challenges in ensuring privacy when feeding babies at evacuation centers and could be vulnerable to sexual assault.
"It's important to provide support to mothers, who may not be able to raise their voices, so that they will not feel isolated," the company's founder Yuka Mitsuhata, 59, said.
The shirts, made from quick-drying material and inspired by kimonos, allow mothers to feed babies from slits situated around the armpits. The design not only provides convenience, but at first glance, also looks as if the mother is simply holding the baby.
Mitsuhata founded the company in 1997 after feeling uncomfortable breastfeeding her own child in public.
In the wake of the 2004 earthquake that hit Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, she began sending such shirts to the disaster-stricken area as she heard about mothers who were staying near the entrance of evacuation centers, enduring the cold temperature to have easy access outside to breastfeed in privacy.
The company has since provided aid on multiple occasions, including for the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster that devastated northeastern Japan, the quake that struck Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan on Jan. 1 this year, as well as to people affected by Russia's war on Ukraine.
To help mothers prepare for emergencies on their own, as the setup of breastfeeding spaces are often delayed in evacuation centers, Mo-House initially made an emergency kit in 2018, which has evolved into its current form through modifications.
The kit is made up of one breastfeeding shirt and one maternity bra, with the company including additional items such as sanitary napkins and emergency food rations if requested by municipalities.
Tsukuba began stockpiling the shirts in 2017 and currently have around 70 emergency kits from the company.
"Mothers are able to breastfeed in safety if they are able to stay close to their family while in an evacuation center," said Koichi Onizuka of the city's disaster management division.
"It is also important to not leave them alone to prevent sexual assault," he said.
Naoko Takahashi, 39, an Ibaraki prefectural assembly member and a mother who has been a user of the shirt, said, "It's crucial to have alternatives other than a breastfeeding room."
Some 15 municipalities in Ibaraki, Gifu, Osaka and Nara prefectures carry the kit in their emergency supplies. Some local governments have also given the shirts to pregnant mothers as a gift along with maternal handbooks, for daily use.
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