Babies in the Office?
It's weird, right?
“What about women who've experienced infertility, miscarriage, childlessness by circumstance, extreme ambivalence about their childfree choice? What kind of pain are they expected to endure, when folks bring their little bundles of joy to work?”
Do people still bring their newborn babies into the office?
Reading Margaret’s story about being a working childfree woman in the 70s, I caught myself thinking, “I can’t believe they used to do this!” And then, a moment later, “I bet this still happens in some workplaces!!!”
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the community celebrating a new birth if you don’t stop to think about it. But if you do… what about women who’ve experienced infertility, miscarriage, childlessness by circumstance, extreme ambivalence about their childfree choice? What kind of pain are they expected to endure, when folks bring their little bundles of joy to work?
Margaret, now in her 70s, politely held her coworkers’ children for decades. She seems unbothered, welcoming the chance to see if the experience would spark any longing in her. But you have to agree, it’s weird that she had to sit through that!
