When I got married three years ago, my life was different. However after embracing parenthood we, my wife to be particular, have been experiencing the city we live in (Dhaka) through a new lens. Despite so many modern amenities offered by the capital this city cannot be considered as a new mom-friendly place if it is seen through the perspective of a new mother. For instance- most of the shopping malls/centers are not equipped with facilities that are very essential for a new mom. Well, have we ever put some good thoughts into this matter – how can we make this city more new mom-friendly? Here are some plausible options.

First and foremost, all the shopping malls should be facilitated with breastfeeding and baby-changing rooms. It is often seen that parents find themselves in a fix while visiting many shopping centers if their baby pees or poops. If there is no baby-changing room in the shopping centre and the parents cannot change baby’s diaper, then the baby may form rashes, which may result in other health complications. So, it is very important that the malls offer all those amenities to the parents that will help them to pass quality time at the shopping centre without feeling any mental strain.

The same arrangement should be made in the public toilets, though very few in numbers, of the city as well. The condition of our public toilets is terrible and the way these are maintained is more terrifying. Interior of most of the public toilets of the capital is very grimy and even there are not enough public toilets in the city. More public toilets facilitated with baby-changing rooms should be introduced in the city with a view to easing the pain of the new mothers.

Next, as far as the opportunity of breastfeeding is concerned our city may seem like an uninviting place to a new mother as there are not enough dedicated breastfeeding spaces. Often it is seen that the infant needs to be breastfed but the mother cannot do so because of lack of such spaces or conducive atmosphere. That’s why many new mothers feel discouraged to breastfeed their infants in the public places. This is indeed a serious thing to consider since breastfeeding the child at the right time is important and whether the infants are breastfed or not can have significant impacts on the trajectory of their (children) lives. To mitigate this problem, dedicated breastfeeding spots/spaces should be allocated at the bus stands and other public places so that new mothers feel welcoming whenever they feel the necessity to breastfeed their babies.

In addition to these, when it comes to taking care of the infant, it gets tough for many working mothers to find a convenient and reliable day-care centre. Owing to such unavailability many new mothers have to quit their jobs and sacrifice their dream to become self-dependent which is never expected in this post-modern age when we are talking about and striving hard to figure out ways to empower women in a meaningful way. A most-often-overlooked solution in this regard is keeping provision of child-care centre at the parent’s (mother) workplace. Such facility would be advantageous to both the mothers and the employer. If the mother is offered such opportunity, she will be able to concentrate more on her office works without getting any jitters for her child whereas the employer could get the best output from his/her employee which will, in turn, benefit the organization she (the mother) is working for. A study work titled “Vouching for child care assistance with two quasi-experimental studies”, published in the Journal of Managerial Psychology, revealed that the performance of the employees availing of the facility of workplace-based child-care centers was higher than employees using a center located at a distant place.

In the meantime it is imperative that government or city corporation authorities should take proper steps to establish many more day-care centers in the vicinity. Usually it is found that the number of trustworthy day-care centers in the capital is very minimal compared to the demand. As a result women cannot do independent/freelance works as many homemakers find it difficult to strike the balance while managing kids and household works together. If such centers are made available in all the localities of the city, then the new mothers could think of doing something creative for themselves other than the household chores that may help to increase their self-esteem.

Well, much have been said and written about how to turn this city into an eco-friendly one, but now I think it’s high time that we addressed the issue of developing a new mom-friendly city as we know that our capital is not as new mother-friendly as it should be. Only constructing high-rise buildings and flyovers is not enough for a smart city rather a conurbation must be designed and planned in such a way that our women (new mothers) feel comfortable and find it convenient to work and commute within the city which will, in the long run, make them empowered in the truest sense.

(The writer is a columnist.)