MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Who said you have to choose between being a career woman and a new mom? There’s a group of women in Martin County who are doing both at the same time at the same place.
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It’s kind of like overseeing a new intern at work. In her office at the Martin County United Way, Elisabeth Glynn carries sleepy baby Allison in her arms while she types up a report.
“Did you get that report in?” Glynn jokes asking her infant daughter.
They’re "interns" that have to be fed around the clock.
“He likes to eat,” said Aubrey Campbell, Manager of Operation at the Martin County Health Start Coalition holding her 1-year-old Otis on her lap as he munches on a cookie.
These Martin County moms would not have it any other way.
“To be with, carry a baby for 40 some weeks and then only have a few weeks with them at home to recover physically and emotionally and then have to be like here’s my baby to some stranger, I couldn’t have done it,” said Campbell.
A handful of Martin County workplaces have adopted what you could call a BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) policy. It helped Samantha Suffich get back to work eight weeks after delivering her baby girl Nora.
“I think the fact that I can wear her makes her much happier,” said Suffich with her baby wrapped on her chest as she types at her standing desktop computer at the Healthy Start Coalition.
Next door, Campbell and Otis are getting bonding time and work done.
“With Otis, it was a little different because I got postpartum depression, so it’s helped with our bonding tremendously,” said Campbell.
The biggest milestone for the moms is being able to breastfeed even after returning from maternity leave. Campbell breastfed her first child for 26 months because she was able to bring her to work and Otis is still breastfeeding.
“I don’t think if I wasn’t allowed to bring both of them, I would not have been able to meet that goal,” said Campbell.
At Chef’s Table, general manager Carra Creahan doesn’t bring her 18 month old to work anymore, but she carried her baby around the hip at the restaurant for months.
“I brought her to work only 3 weeks after having a C-section,” said Creahan.
With trust from their employers and some office redecorating, these mom are thriving.
“I was able to continue my career, which I worked so hard to establish,” said Campbell.
And the success is rubbing off on the little ones too. Otis almost took his first steps in the office.
“Don’t do it. You’ll be in big trouble,” said Campbell laughing as she joked about her husband not being around to witness Otis’ first steps.
These moms don’t know how long the arrangement will work.
“I plan on keeping her with me until she’s 1 unless it does interfere with the office,” said Suffich.
“Maybe when she’s older and walking around maybe not so much and we’ll just figure it out,” said Glynn.
But for now, they’re succeeding at what moms do best, making it happen.
“Failure is not an option,” laughed Glynn.
The Martin County Healthy Start Coalition can help provide resources to any workplace considering allowing new moms to bring their babies to work.
At 5 p.m. Monday on WPTV, find out the one goal these moms say they would have never been able to reach if they could not being their babies to work.
