Babies in the Workplace

understanding and supportive."

   Brent Roper of the NAIC explained that "many hands make light work. If a parent is having a bad day, or a baby is, there are a lot of people willing to help."

   Kim Martin of Austin, Texas, said that

   There were days when I would have stuff to
   get done and the baby needed more
   attention that day. It was a little bit stressful,
   but there are lots of women around here
   who welcomed the chance to walk around
   with a baby for a bit. I wasn't alone--there
   were any number of people that had time to
   babysit for a bit.

   This social network, where new mothers are integrated in society and other people take turns holding and playing with the baby, is how humans cared for children for almost the entire history of our species. As strange as the concept of babies in the workplace might initially sound, it is

actually far more natural than isolating new
parents and babies the way our society often does.

Social Network for Parents

Humans are extremely social beings. Yet we expect new mothers to spend the first weeks or months after birth happily alone at home with a baby who requires far more social stimulation than most people can realistically provide on their own.

New parents, especially in the early weeks of their baby's life, often feel isolated and lonely at home all day with their infants while most or all of their friends are at work. Many new mothers joke about how they can't remember how to talk to adults after spending most of their days alone with young children. Taking babies to work provides mothers with a strong social support network as well as the assistance of many other