Leaving your child in the care of others is one of the most difficult things a mother has to do when returning to the workforce.
Luckily, there are companies that make the transition back to work a bit easier by providing on-site childcare or baby-at-work programs. Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville has been doing it since 1985.
Kim Wolowicz, a Clinical Supervisor at Memorial Hospital, felt consumed with fear when her maternity leave was over and she had to return to work.
"I was so anxious," she says. "It's almost like I didn't want to go back to work but you have to you know?”
Wolowicz is far from being alone. The Pew Research Center found that four out of ten mothers are the primary breadwinner in their family.
In 46% of households with a mother and father, both parents are employed full time.
Bright Horizons at Memorial is an on-site daycare that is open to employees of the hospital just across the street at a discounted rate. They also cater to employees of Brooks Rehabilitation nearby.
“Knowing that you're so close and they're right here it's such a benefit for working moms being back in the workforce and having that childcare on-site or across the street it's just so important because it gives the moms a peace of mind that they're this close to their child,” says Wolowicz.
She says she’s relieved knowing she can breastfeed her six-month-old, Bowden during a break at work.
“I come over at noon and feed him every day.”
Bright Horizons daycare offers a baby-at-work program. Tina Brown who teaches there is taking full advantage of it. She’s able to speak with her son every chance she gets.
“I get to see him every day," she says."He comes to work with me.”
The Delores Barr Weaver Policy center has a baby at work program that started in 2015. PAL Jacksonville followed suit starting a similar program that allows moms to bring their babies to work for up to six months.
A business needs to have at least 900 employees in order to open a Bright Horizons on-site daycare. Memorial Hospital has more than 1,800 employees.
Working Mother Magazine compiled a list of the top 100 companies in the U.S. for working moms. Included on that list are local companies Johnson and Johnson and TIAA Bank.
For a look at the complete list, you can click here.