B ABY & M E
Family Friendly Employer-Run Childcare Helping Many Mothers Return to Work Post-Baby By Paige Townley Photos courtesy of AFLA
When Dr. Delaney Spaulding purchased her dental practice, Ross Bridge Dentistry, in 2020, she and her husband Andrew didn’t plan to immediately start a family. They soon, however, found themselves pregnant with their first child. “We were overjoyed, but I knew we had to figure out what we were going to do to make it work because I still had my practice to run,” Spaulding says. “Then I realized: there would be no reason to limit myself and choose to either stay home or send my child to daycare. It only made sense to me to bring the baby to work so that I can give my time to the office but also keep doing what I need to do as a mom.” That’s when Spaulding got the idea to begin offering childcare during work hours at her practice. With the practice located on the bottom floor of the building, she decided to use existing upstairs space to create a childcare area for anyone working at the practice. “Once I got the idea there was no reason not to extend it to anyone working at the practice,” Spaulding says. “A family-friendly working environment is beneficial to everyone.” It certainly helped Spaulding when she transitioned back to work after giving birth to her son, Riley. “I was more focused and calmer knowing that he was only a footstep away, upstairs with a caretaker watching him while I was working,” Spaulding adds. Spaulding also saw many other added benefits, such as saving time on her commute and being able to breastfeed when needed. “So many barriers are set up for working mothers when they reenter the workforce that makes the breastfeeding journey so difficult,” she says. “I was able to go breastfeed when needed. And I also appreciate getting the added time with Riley on my lunch break or between patients. I wouldn’t have that one-on-one time during the day any other way.” 20 | Birmingham Parent | March-April 2022
Spaulding isn’t the only working mother faced with the difficult decision of going back to work or staying home after starting a family. According to a 2020 study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 77.5 percent of employed mothers working full time had children under the age of 6. The number was higher (81.2 percent) for mothers with older children ages six to 17. For many working mothers, it’s a difficult decision to determine what to do when that time comes, especially considering that for many mothers, there’s not even a choice. An analysis by Pew Research Center revealed that approximately 40 percent of mothers are the primary breadwinners that must work to support their families. “Every other job I’ve ever walked into, I’ve wondered, as a female, how can this job work whenever I decide I want to start a family?” Spaulding says. “It’s often taboo to even ask about things like that. So often women are told it makes more sense for them to stay at home, but not every female wants to, or can, give up their career to do that. That’s why it’s so important for me to have an onsite child-friendly working environment.” While Spaulding’s practice is making it easy for working mothers, it’s certainly not the norm. But there are other companies who agree that childcare should be an easier topic to tackle for working mothers. Alfa Insurance home office campus in Montgomery has offered an onsite daycare, known as Little Alfa, for employees since 1991. “At that time, there was a need for employee childcare, especially childcare that mimicked the hours of our home office,” explains Susie White, Alfa Insurance’s employee relations and training manager. The onsite daycare is open to all employees, and if space is available, it’s even available to grandchildren of employees. “With it being onsite, employees have the ability to go there during the day to check on their
