I understood the reference; I know that happened plenty. At my job some mothers would bring in their children if there was an unexpected day off school; eventually management put an end to that (issues with insurance and such).
The lie sold to women today is that they can “have it all” (meaning a career and a family); it is nearly impossible, and one goal or the other (or both) suffer...
Generally the secretary gets stuck with “having it all.” A job, in some ways, worse than working retail.