From crèches to nursing rooms, these firms help new moms breastfeed at work

Sreemoyee.Chatterjee
Bengaluru: Puja (name changed), 27, a corporate employee in Bengaluru, quit her job after becoming a mother. She had enough support at home, but she wanted to breastfeed her child for at least two years.
“Working in an office which doesn’t have adequate facilities for a new mother is difficult post motherhood. I couldn’t have breastfed him if I continued working,” she said.
Ditto with Tani (name changed), 31, a techie.“I knew this break might slow down my career, but not giving enough time and energy to my children would have always pricked my conscience. Breastfeeding is best for a baby as it leads to better brain development and keeps the child healthy and active.”
New mothers say the period of maternity leave in India’s private sector is dismal and hardly do they find suitable space to breastfeed newborns in office. Around 33% of working new moms in Bengaluru said their workplaces didn’t have any nursing facility to support breastfeeding and 57% of them quit their jobs post-delivery for the same reason, found a multi-city survey conducted to mark World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 to 7).
However, several corporates in Bengaluru are doing everything possible to make their workplaces mother-friendly. From setting up crèches attached to office, where mothers can breastfeed their babies at regular intervals and monitor them while at work, to providing adequate nursing space, these companies are helping mothers breastfeed their children at workplace.
R Nuchin, 31, an associate scientist with Syngene International Limited, Bommanahalli, said: “I was lucky that my company has a very good crèche with all facilities for breastfeeding. I could take my baby to office and keep her there.”
For two years, Sarjapur resident Sarita A, 33, a techie at IBM, has been travelling to her workplace with her now three-year-old daughter.
“From an office cab picking me and my baby up from home to providing adequate space and privacy for breastfeeding at the crèche, I can take care of my baby and my work,” she said.
Several organizations like Accenture, Genpact, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Goldman Sachs and Infosys have tied up with day care centres and crèches near office, enabling their women employees to successfully handle motherhood and career.
“When I delivered twins, I knew it’d be impossible for me to continue working. However, thanks to a crèche right next to my office in the same tech park, I have been able to breastfeed my one-year-old son and daughter; I also got a promotion recently,” said a proud corporate mother working with Goldman Sachs.
Accenture has initiated a Childcare Support Programme to help women manage motherhood and career. “We have tied up with day care centres so that employees can be at peace about their children’s well-being while they are at work. Our wellness rooms are fully equipped, with private space for new as well as expecting mums. We also provide maternity counselling to assist new and expectant mothers as they embark on an exciting yet challenging phase of life,” said a spokesperson from Accenture.
Sasha Sanyal, senior vice-president and business leader at insurance, CSR and diversity, Genpact, said: “Genpact enables new mums to breastfeed babies at work by offering around 20 onsite and near-site day care facilities. Breastfeeding is natural and critical, and our working mothers have complete freedom to breastfeed their babies at the daycare facilities as often as they like.”