A bill signed Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo will exempt women who are breastfeeding for up to two years from serving on a jury.

Cuomo said the measure will enable women who are new moms to have more time to care for their infants.

“While jury service is a critically important civic duty, we also know new moms oftentimes juggle countless responsibilities and navigate enormous adjustments in the early stages of their child’s life,” Cuomo said. “This commonsense measure takes that reality into account by providing new moms the flexibility and option to postpone jury service while they care for a newborn.”

To request a jury duty postponement, an applicant must have a note from a doctor to provide verification and the service cannot have already been postponed or excused.

The measure was sponsored by Assemblyman Marcos Crespo and Sen. Velmanette Montgomery.

“Nursing mothers have extraordinary commitments and this new law will remove one extra source of stress for them,” Montgomery said. “I thank Governor Cuomo for signing this bill so we can provide some real relief to breast feeding moms by allowing them to postpone jury duty.”