Babies in the Workplace

Babies-at-work programs enable frequent nursing (in many cases), which often results in happier babies. In addition, the tremendous health benefits for babies from breastfeeding mean that babies who can breastfeed because they are being brought to work tend to get ill far less frequently and less severely than babies who do not receive human milk.

Babies sleep a great deal of the time in the first six months of life, particularly if they are close to another person (as they often are in work programs) and feel safe as a result. Parents who bring their babies to work make the most of nap times to efficiently get large amounts of work done and to make up for lower productivity that can occur when they are caring for their babies.

The majority of companies with babies-at-work programs limit the time babies can come to work to approximately 6 to 8 months of age (or crawling, whichever comes first). Although there are several companies that allow babies that are mobile (or children of any age), a mobility limitation tends to work well for many companies. Babies who are not yet mobile tend to sleep more, and it's obviously much easier working while caring for a stationary baby than with a baby who can travel under her own power. Liability and safety issues are minimal for non-mobile babies.