Babies in the Workplace

She was able to really help me out with that." The employee explained that she "had a lot of anxiety about being a first-time mom anyway," and that she could "imagine that if you're on your own and don't have family to come over, it would be very difficult." She said that she was "in some sense relieved to go back to work and be with other adults."

She explained that breastfeeding her baby didn't go very well because she "was paranoid that [her baby] wasn't getting enough food." Even though only a tiny percentage of women are biologically
unable to produce enough milk for their babies, this mother's concern is very common in our society. With breastfeeding, there is no way to objectively measure the amount of food a baby is getting, as opposed to when you see them drink from a bottle. If a new mother doesn't have supportive, knowledgeable people around to reassure

her that her baby is doing just fine, she
may not have the confidence she needs to
establish a successful breastfeeding relationship with her baby and is more likely to give up. Being able to take babies to work gives parents a community of other people who can offer this support and information, making for healthier and happier babies and mothers.

One woman who brought her baby to work said that as a result of having babies around, people "talk about parenting things, [such as] the birth process and little things babies are doing." She said
that having coworkers to discuss things with is a "great support--especially with a first baby."

She said that for her, her first child was "much harder than I thought it would be. It was nice to have the support of other mothers in the office who had older kids, who had been through it. People were