'We need more jobs like this!' Photo of a multi-tasking mother, 27, holding her sleeping baby while working tirelessly at her desk goes viral, as people call for more offices to be infant-friendly
- The photo was shared on Facebook by Maryland Farms Chiropractic, which is located in Brentwood, Tennessee
- It was uploaded on December 13, and has been shared over 700 times
- The woman in the photo is Melody Blackwell, from Smyrna, who gave birth to her baby girl Nora-Jo in August 2018
- Owner of the business, Dr. Elizabeth Baker, decided to share the photo online to show the importance of letting new mothers bring their babies to work
- Captioning the photo, she wrote: 'We need more small and large businesses to see this is doable and should be allowed more often!'
A Tennessee-based Chiropractor has shared a photo of one of her employees multitasking as she holds her newborn baby while working at her desk at their office.
Dr. Elizabeth Baker, owner of Maryland Farms Chiropractic in Bentwood, Tennessee, spotted one of her employees, Melody Blackwell, 27, holding her then five-month-old infant while taking a call at her desk in December, before capturing the moment in a photo and sharing it to social media.
The photo, which was posted to Facebook on December 13, has resonated with hundreds of mothers, and the post has been shared more than 700 times already.
Multitasking! Dr. Elizabeth Baker of Maryland Chiropractic shared a photo of her employee Melody Blackwell as she held her infant while taking phone calls at her office desk
Working mama! The Tennessee-based worker shared the post to the company's Facebook page in December, and the post has since gone viral and been shared over 700 times
Melody, lead chiropractic assistant and X-ray tech at Maryland Farms Chiropractic, gave birth to a baby girl called Nora-Jo in August 2018.
She had just recently from a three-month maternity leave stint, and according to Yahoo Lifestyle, was bringing her newborn into work once a week, and working the remaining four days from home.
While walking past Melody's cubicle one day in December, Elizabeth spotted the new mother taking a call while her infant lay on her chest.
Boss! Elizabeth (pictured) was praised for allowing 'motherhood and work co exist' in comments on the Facebook post
The chiropractor snapped a photo of the pair at the office, and later shared it to Facebook.
Alongside the photo, she wrote a caption that read: 'Workin' mamas. She makes it look easy. It helps that Baby Nora-Jo is so sweet and content just being with and near her mama.
'Would y'all mind sharing this? We need more small and large businesses to see this is doable and should be allowed more often! The newborn months are so short.
'She has transitioned to working from home mostly, but comes in when we need the extra hands. She's still breastfeeding and baby needs mama! She has many times for feeding breaks while they are in the office.
'#WorkinMamas post a pic of you and your little ones while you work!' she added.
The post has since gone viral, receiving more than 700 shares.
Dozens of fellow new mothers and others who viewed the post have also commented on the post.
One Facebook user wrote: 'I couldn't be more thankful to bring my girl to work every day! I was given my own office to turn into a playroom! They're only little once and I cherish every moment!'
Another user added: 'I mean I see co-workers take 25 smoke breaks in a day but that’s ok!?!? This should definitely be ok!'
'This is awesome. I do not see a problem with bringing kiddos to work if it does not effect your job. What a great office. Good for ya'll and good for her,' another added.
Many others praised Elizabeth for her leadership and flexibility as a boss. One user said: 'Such an inspiring picture. This is the essence of real life...what a great boss.'
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Balance: Another photo (above) that shows Melody feeding Nora-Jo while sitting at her desk at work was posted in October, roughly two months after the baby was born
Inspiration: Melody (pictured) works as the lead chiropractic assistant and X-ray tech at the chiropractor, where she is grateful to be able to bring her newborn baby once a week
Another wrote: 'Kudos to you for offering flexibility to working moms.'
'Thank you for making motherhood and work co exist. These years are so short and there are many of us that want to do both!' added another user.
Elizabeth told Yahoo Lifestyle that the photo that went viral was taken during one of the first days Melody had brought her baby with her to work.
She said: 'I honestly was taking it to post onto our office Facebook page for our patients who had been asking about how mom and baby were doing since she had been gone for three months.
'I wanted to share that with our little following for the office. I never thought it would get so many comments and shares,' she added.
Elizabeth said that it was her idea for Melody to come into the office once a week, and work the remaining days from home.
She added that as soon as Melody became pregnant, they started thinking about how they could create a new schedule for her, mainly so she could attend the staff's weekly meeting.
She said: 'Once she got pregnant I knew we needed to figure out a way to make this work. We had nine months to plan, at least!'
Melody said that when she heard about the flexible policy, she was delighted.
'I knew it was going to be hard for me to leave [Nora-Jo] when she was so young,' she said.
Speaking to News Channel 5, the mother said: 'I don't know what I would do if my boss wasn't as flexible as she is.
'I definitely think it's a conversation that every business should have with their working mothers,' she added.
