Last month, we received a review on the parent room/baby change facilities in Nowra. There was once a rest centre, in the middle of town, where parents with babies could stop in for a break, to feed and change the little ones. This centre was closed down, without the provision of a suitable alternative. When babies need to be fed, parents really can only choose from a cafe or park bench, instead of a nice and welcoming council-provided centre.
So what options are available right now in Nowra? Well, there is the disabled bathroom with change table in the mall (not at all suitable, especially for feeding). There’s a baby change setup at the library, but this doesn’t help when you are in the middle of town. The cubicles in the parent room are too small to fit a pram, so you really don’t have any privacy for feeding. So what are parents meant to do? Feed their babies out in the open, in a cafe or on a park bench? Some people may be perfectly comfortable with this, but many are not.
This afternoon, we’ve contacted Shoalhaven Council requesting feedback on the information we’ve received regarding the lack of adequate parent room/baby change facilities. Particularly if there are any plans in the pipeline for the rest centre to be reopened. In the meantime, we’ll just wait and see.