No matter how much planning goes into things ahead of time, having a child is always a big adjustment for a family. Even for families that already have children, a new baby comes with a new set of challenges and changes that need to be adopted.

Schedules become more complex. Sleep becomes more precious. There are any number of new medical and other service providers — from babysitters to diaper services — to be considered.

Ever since women began to enter the workforce in large numbers, the adjustments they’ve had to make in order to juggle work and family commitments have been especially tricky. For most families in America today, there seems to be no way to survive without two incomes — and even for many of the families that could do so, women have found a desire to derive satisfaction from their careers. So it has become more important than ever for them to find a way to balance those careers with their families’ needs.

Bon Secours Virginia, the health care company with facilities in Suffolk, Portsmouth and throughout Hampton Roads, recently was honored for the many ways it sets out to make life easier for the working mothers that comprise much of its employee base.

For the 15th consecutive year, the company or one of its subsidiaries has been named as one of the Working Mother Best 100 Companies by Working Mother magazine.

Eighty percent of the company’s employees are female, and they enjoy benefits designed to encourage them to continue working for Bon Secours, even after they have children.

Programs supporting the female employees include expanded paid maternity leave, paid adoption assistance, college scholarships for employees’ children, ongoing job development and advancement opportunities, job flexibility including the phasing back in after maternity leave and job sharing, compressed work weeks, telecommuting and shifting schedules.

Such benefits go far beyond salaries to keep employees happy, and Bon Secours has set a great example for other companies in developing such a good package. The company deserves the magazine’s recognition, along with the acknowledgement of the community improved by its presence.

Good work.