Balancing work and motherhood is tough, especially with a newborn baby. Most of the time, new mothers don’t get a break for at least a few months, walking around like exhausted zombies until their children learn to sleep through the night. Add in daily chores and work tasks, and you can imagine it’s not an easy situation.
And that’s if you get that far. A lot of mothers can’t find affordable childcare, making it difficult to go back to work. But increasingly, modern businesses are recognizing the challenges of motherhood, putting progressive policies in place to help their staff through this special time. Maryland Farms Chiropractic in Brentwood, Tennessee, is one of those employers.
Last month, the office went viral after a posting a photo of their chiropractic assistant online.
Melody Blackwell had recently given birth to a baby girl named Nora-Jo.
Although she had taken maternity leave, that time had now ended, and she needed to go back to work. Luckily, however, Melody’s workplace was understanding of her needs. They made concessions for her situation, allowing her to work from home, so she could breastfeed and take care of her newborn.
While Melody spends most of her time working from home, she’s always willing to come in when it’s busy to give a helping hand. But now when she comes in, she has Nora-Jo in tow— and her boss, Dr. Elizabeth Baker, couldn’t be prouder.
On December 13, 2018, Baker posted a photo of Melody to the office’s Facebook page. In the picture, Melody’s seated at her desk with baby Nora-Jo cradled on her chest. Alongside the photo, Baker wrote:
“Workin’ mamas. She makes it look easy. It helps that Nora-Jo is so sweet and content just being with and near her mama.”
“Would y’all mind sharing this? We need more small and large businesses to see this is doable and should be allowed more often! The newborn months are so short.”
After being posted, the photo spread like wildfire, garnering over a thousand shares and attention from major news outlets. Most people seem to support the initiative, noting that it’s easily possible with the right work environment and a supportive atmosphere.
In fact, in an interview with MSN Lifestyle, Baker revealed she was the one who suggested Melody work from home. “Once she got pregnant, I knew we needed to figure out a way to make this work,” the doctor laughed. “We had nine months to plan, at least!”
Melody was clearly excited about the flexible policy and says she empathizes with mothers who don’t have similar options.
Baker says hefty daycare costs were actually a big factor behind the decision. For some mothers, it makes more financial sense for them to just quit.
While Melody and Baker acknowledge this may not be an option for every workplace, they encourage mothers and employers to at least start the dialogue. In a Love What Matters post, Melody wrote:
“I hope that more moms in the future will get the opportunity that I have to get to spend every day with my baby but also contribute to the family income.”
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