With all the focus on women’s health in the workplace in the past year, employers should be providing more support for pregnant employees by improving their financial security, having open discussions around symptoms and offering more flexibility.
As a soon-to-be first-time mom — who was unsure how she felt about becoming pregnant at first — my journey has been slightly unexpected and filled with highs and lows.
Read: How Manulife is supporting employees through the many stages of their health journeys
One of the more unexpected symptoms of pregnancy for me personally has been “pregnancy brain.” Don’t let the casual moniker fool you, it’s a very real brain fog that can make it difficult to concentrate on everyday tasks at work. I typically pride myself on my good memory and strong organizational skills, but those are often lost in the fog as of late.
Financial stress can also be at an all-time high during pregnancy, so offering a maternity leave top-up can go a long way to relieve that stress. A survey by Maturn in March 2024 found 39 per cent of Canadian women didn’t receive any maternity leave top-up. Among the 59 per cent who received some form of paid leave, the benefits rarely extended beyond their paycheque, with critical support services such as childcare assistance and counselling notably absent.
The daunting task of applying for childcare when most waitlists are 12 to 18 months can leave a person feeling slightly overwhelmed. Going into all this, I had no clue I had to apply for daycare the second I saw that positive test result staring back at me. So, if employers can provide additional support for childcare needs, it helps to alleviate one of the many worries a pregnant woman has.
Employers seem to be making significant headway in supporting women’s health around menopause, but during my time writing for this industry, I haven’t heard quite as much about the pregnancy journey while still at work.
Of course, every woman experiences their pregnancy differently and some may have no major symptoms, but it’s important for leaders to check in and see where their employee is at in their journey. Fostering open communication and providing a flexible environment where someone has more time for appointments, or can work different hours, will have a huge impact.
Thankfully, I have a manager who recently went through the process twice herself and has been very understanding, so I know firsthand how having that support from leadership is key to making an employee feel like they can continue to work through their pregnancy and be more confident about their return to work.
Read: More Canadian employers topping up maternity leave benefits than parental leave benefits: survey