File Photo / Tim Greenway
Amy VanHaren, founder and CEO of pumpspotting.
Updated: May 23, 2023
Baseball and baby-feeding: Sea Dogs team with pumpspotting to support parents
Photo /Courtesy Portland Sea Dogs
The nursing nook at Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team, is available for use by nursing parents.
Photo / Courtesy Portland Sea Dogs.
Inside the nursing nook at Hadlock Field.
Nursing mothers who attend Portland Sea Dogs baseball games at Hadlock Field now have free access to a baby-and-breastfeeding support app, thanks to a partnership between the team and pumpspotting, a Kittery-based startup.
The mobile app connects users with lactation experts for virtual consultations and a community of fellow parents, and flags mom-approved nearby places to nurse and pump.
Through a partnership with the Sea Dogs announced earlier this month, the pumpspotting app is available free of charge to all fans, employees and partners of the minor league baseball team.
Baseball fans can download the app for free using a custom access code posted around the ballpark. The app directs users to the Tuff Shed "nursing nook" that opened last year at the third-base gate just past the Sea Dogs souvenir store, and provides access to feeding support long after each game.
Chris Cameron, Sea Dogs vice president for communications and fan experience, told Mainebiz that the nook is used multiple times a game and has been well-received by caregivers.
"The partnership with pumpspotting will only help enhance the facility by providing further resources for nursing moms," he said.
pumpspotting, founded by CEO Amy VanHaren, aims to be a complete baby-feeding support platform for parents and organizations, giving nursing caregivers support and expert guidance to help them navigate feeding at work, at home and on the go.
The Kittery-based company employs eight people.
"The Sea Dogs strive to be a family ballpark and we support every step of parenthood," said Geoff Iacuessa, the team's president and general manager. "We want to make sure our caregivers feel welcome and comfortable at the park."
He also said the resources on the pumpspotting platform "provide everything parents need to thrive on their baby-feeding journey, including community support, education and location-enabled, crowd-sourced places to safely and comfortably nurse and pump, both in the park and across the globe.”
VanHaren praised the Sea Dogs for taking "an exciting step in helping families take their babies out to the ball game."
"When companies create cultures that make it easier for parents to nurse, pump and feed with ease, whether at work or at the ballpark, it benefits everyone: moms and babies and the businesses themselves," VanHaren added. “So it's especially meaningful for us to be partnering with leaders like the Sea Dogs in our home state of Maine to help make sporting events more accessible for breastfeeding parents."
VanHaren was honored on the Mainebiz Next List in 2021 and shared her startup story on the Mainebiz podcast "The Day That Changed Everything," in an episode archived here.
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