Regarding the Jan. 11 editorial "Confidence to have children": Expansion of child-care services is critical to restoring the birthrate. While facilities and hours have been expanded in recent years, an area of particular concern is the absence of care for sick children.
Many women are reluctant to have children because they fear that they will be perceived as unreliable by colleagues and supervisors if they return to the workforce, since most child-care centers insist that mildly sick children be sent home on short notice. Services should be expanded to provide isolated sleeping areas for children with mild fevers and typical respiratory and digestive illnesses.
eric w. sedlak
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