DESKTOPS AND DIAPERS
Allowing infants in the workplace is good for companies and workers — even for those without children
Starting a family is one of the biggest milestones of life. When my husband and I made the decision to have children, we knew there would be implications to our professional lives. Like many families in Arizona, we both had careers that kept us busy and away from home.
A new baby for our family meant that we would have to reshuffle our priorities so we could spend as much time with our children as possible and not miss out on critical bonding time.
Fortunately for my family, my job at the Arizona Department of Health Services offered a program called “Infants at Work” that allows new parents — both mothers and fathers — to bring newborns to the office until they are six months old. Before my son was born in 2011, I decided to participate in the program. I also participated in the program again in 2015 when we welcomed our daughter to our family.
As a mom, I was able to experience firsthand the benefits of the program. I came back to work sooner without having to leave my little ones with another caregiver. More importantly, I didn’t miss out on those precious moments that new parents experience.
Babies only stay little for a very short time, so I am glad I got to spend
more of it with my children.
After participating in the program, working at ADHS felt like much more than a job to me. My colleagues have held my babies and watched them grow from newborns into small children. They have a vested interest in how my family is doing, and I feel the same way about their families.
ADHS is a natural fit for the Infants at Work program, which started in 2000 as a breastfeeding support service for new moms. As a physician, I understand the health benefits this program brings to our employees and their families. As the director of ADHS, I know our entire team benefits from having infants in the office. There is a huge boost in morale and positive energy in our work environment.
Studies have shown that babies who are breastfed have healthier immune systems, have a lower risk of childhood obesity and have a better chance to grow up to be healthy adults. There are also health benefits for moms who breastfeed, including lower risks of Type 2 diabetes, and certain types of breast and ovarian cancer. If you have questions about breastfeeding, you can call our Breastfeeding Hotline 24 hours a day at 1-800-833-4642.
The pillar of public health is to improve the overall health of our communities, and encouraging healthy habits for new parents and newborns is a vital step to accomplishing this goal.
As the agency’s director and as a mom, I’m doing everything I can to encourage our employees to join this successful program. About 200 babies have participated since 2000. On average, you might see anywhere from three to 10 babies in the office at a given time.
I was excited when Gov. Doug Ducey announced last month in his State of the State address that Arizona is expanding the Infant at Work program to other state agencies. This is a positive step for growing families in our state. The program has already expanded to the Governor’s Office, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
More parents can now give their newborns a healthy start to their lives, and our state will make even more strides to providing better service to our fellow citizens. Happy babies and happy parents equal a happy and productive work environment.
There is no cost to taxpayers to expand the program to other agencies, but the benefits are immeasurable. Just as our employees bring their lunches and personal supplies into work each day, baby’s food and daily changing supplies are brought in by the parents. The benefit is seeing productive moms and dads to return to work sooner than we would if they take full maternity leave. This has proven to be a great employee retention and recruitment tool for the state.
I encourage other organizations and businesses in the public and private sectors to develop “Infant at Work” programs for their own staff. We have resources on our website at azhealth.gov/infantatwork to help you develop and implement the program for your specific needs. The program will benefit new parents, your staff and your organization by giving a boost to retention and recruitment efforts.
Let’s keep Arizona the best state in the nation to raise a family and keep empowering our new moms and dads to succeed professionally without sacrificing their ability to be happy parents raising happy babies.
Cara Christ, M.D., M.S. is the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services.