Parenting rooms are making offices baby friendly, helping new mums return to work sooner!

Many new mums, particularly those that love their job, can often feel torn between a desire to stay at home with their baby for as long as possible and a need, whether financial or personal, to return to work.

Workplaces are generally not the most baby friendly environments, but thankfully more offices are getting on board, introducing parenting rooms for mums and their bubs.

A Balancing Act

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Andi Chatterton said that the parenting room at her co-working space made the transition back to work much easier to manage.

“I don’t just want to be a mum,” she said. “I really love what I do and I don’t want to give that up. Too many people are put in a position where they have to choose.”

Andi said that the birth of her son coincided with a crucial period for her tech startup and she simply couldn’t afford to postpone her return to the office.

“We had so much work that there wasn’t really a question, I had to be helping out,” she said.

The parenting room at her office provided a quiet, dimly lit space that she could retreat to with her son Ethan to breastfeed in between phone calls and meetings.

Lead By Example

It is hoped that the trend towards more parent-friendly work environments in small businesses will translate into real change in larger corporations.

The Washington Post says that supporting mums in their return to work, through the provision of flexible work options and parenting spaces, is a smart move for businesses as they will retain quality employees and create a culture of collaboration.

All mums, but especially new mums, are under constant pressure to be good parents, partners and employees, so introducing parenting rooms in the workplace and offering the option of bringing your baby with you to work where possible go a long way to making life a whole lot easier.

Does your workplace offer the option of bringing your baby to work? Let us know in the comments.

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