Washington agency allows parents to bring babies to work

OLYMPIA, Washington -- A Washington state agency wants to give working parents a fighting chance at a career and a family with its 'infant-at-work' policy.

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission instituted the policy back in June, allowing workers to bring their babies ages six weeks to six months to the office.

New mothers, fathers or legal guardians are eligible to take advantage of the program until babies are able to crawl, ABC News reports.

Erica Stineman, a communications consultant for the commission, said she brings her 4-month-old daughter Lydia to work now three days a week.

"It was really exciting to know that I wasn't going to have to be bringing her to day care after eight weeks of being on maternity leave," Stineman told ABC News. "Having this extra time with her just meant the world to me."

State officials said the program is intended to help parents bond with their children, leading to healthy brain development in infants and well-being for the child's parents.

Officials also said the program allows for exclusive breastfeeding, which research shows improves lifelong health.

Workers said there is another benefit from the program: high morale.

The program comes on the heels of private companies adopting similar family-friendly policies, including Virgin Airlines, Microsoft, Adobe and Netflix.