Aon Quartely Magazine

Celebrating
mothers at
Aon
Article by Kevin Marete
In support of a mother friendly environment, Aon Kenya has gone to
greater lengths to ensure the needs of its working mothers are well
taken of through investing in a child care facility, commonly referred to
as a Crèche.
A crèche could be described as a place where young children are cared
for during the day while their parents are working. The facility can be
more described as a Lactation room which is an exclusive private room
where a breastfeeding mother can use a breast pump in private one or
more times a day.
It has been widely accepted that infancy is the most critical period
for a child’s growth and development. Not only does it nourish the
child’s growth but also exclusive breastfeeding guards children against
diseases such as jaundice, pneumonia, cholera, among others.
One of the major interventions of the Ministry of Health Department of
Nutrition and Dietetics is providing a designated clean, private area for
mothers to express milk or breastfeed their babies and storage facilities
to keep milk safe. In providing a supportive environment, Aon Kenya
Crèche has provided appropriate furniture, utilities and access to water
and soap to clean storage items.
We embracing this culture will certainly improve the retention of our female employees
more so on their valuable skills and experiences, lessening recruitment and retraining
costs.
Benefits that corporate organizations would heed from having a child
care facility are:
• Easier transition back to work after maternity leave
• Improved retention of female employees
• Lower employee absenteeism rates on account of improved child health
• Improved employer employee relations and greater employee loyalty
• Improved company image
• Higher job productivity, employee satisfaction and morale
In support of working mothers all around the globe, let us join hands in influencing best
practices for breastfeeding in the workplace and home.