You made it to the Second trimester!

In my first instalment of getting real about pregnancy and work, I went through the absolute rollercoaster of the first trimester. It’s a bumpy ride and weeks feel like months. However, I won’t dive back into that slog again.

I shall now take a moment to pause, let out a big sigh of relief and toast to the fact that I made it through and as a reward, now get to have some pretty exciting bursts of energy!

That devilish fatigue has left for now and having been here before, I won’t let a moment go by without relishing it.

It’s one of those things that until you experience struggling to get through the day from start to finish, you don’t truly appreciate getting through the day without even thinking about it.

By comparison, the second trimester is pretty dreamy.

But to be clear, that doesn’t mean it’s business as usual in its entirety…

So, what’s needed to get through work this time?

Support.

If you haven’t shared the news already, then it’s time for the big reveal with your Manager. You have until 15 weeks before your baby is due and the better the relationship with work, the sooner you may want to tell them to benefit from their support.

I just wanted to let you know that I’m pregnant…I’m pretty good but can I let you know if or when I need some support?

“Congratulations! That’s a great idea. If you want to, tell me more about what’s going on that would help me to support you?”

On the surface things might look back to pre-pregnancy me (other than that ever-growing bump…) but there’s always something going on.

The days feel great and that to-do list has me powering through it once again. My creative juices are flowing. New projects abounding. Excitement for the future buzzing.

But did I mention that I now get a touch of insomnia at night?

It’s mostly fine but sometimes I feel the impact of the broken nights.

Care.

I might occasionally need time off at short notice but hopefully, this won’t be required.

“I understand. If you need something, let’s talk and we’ll make sure we look after you.”

You’d think doing this for a second time would be easier but, in some ways, I’ve been more anxious about this one.

It’s a big mental load being responsible for another human especially when the only way to check in on them is to be aware of how you feel inside.

Unfortunately, I did need to make an urgent trip to the hospital this time and check everything was ok.

And in those moments, where you think your worst fears are coming true, and you can’t call through to the maternity ward quick enough and you have to drive through ominous winds and rain and navigate the world’s worst multi-story car park, the last thing on your mind is work.

And I say this as someone who loves and values her work.

All I needed in those moments, was care.

Honesty and future-scoping.

Here’s my MAT-B1 certificate with my due date. Can we talk about the plan for the coming months and my maternity leave?

“That’s a great idea. Let’s get your dates in the diary and then we can make sure that everything is lined up ahead of your maternity leave and that’s one less thing to worry about.”

It might seem like the baby is still a few months away but time warps during pregnancy. It goes slowly and fast at the same time.

As that due date nears, things can change in no time so knowing what the work plan is, really helps to alleviate unnecessary stress.

Whether you’re employed or self-employed, taking time off from your work / colleagues / clients, can be seriously daunting. So, I want to share how that manifests in the inner voice, for me, for others, no matter how confident someone might seem on the outside.

‘What if my company sees me as a burden taking ‘time off work’?”

“What if the person seconded into my role does it better?”

“What if my clients find someone else to work with because they’re not having babies and I don’t get to work with them again?”

“What if they make me redundant while I’m off?”

These are just some of the thoughts that cross your mind. And sadly, some of them are truer than I’d like to admit.

According to Pregnant Then Screwed, “74,000 women a year lose their jobs for getting pregnant or for taking maternity leave in the UK today – a 37% increase from 54,000 in 2016.”

Hopefully you can now understand why women feel anxious about their careers and work at this time of their life.

Instil Confidence

But it doesn’t need to be this way.

There are companies already striving to capitalise on the brilliant women’s workforce by showing them they are valued, necessary and not going anywhere.

Enter stage right, Maternity Coaching.

The more confident your employees feel about how positively they will be treated once they reveal they are expecting, the greater the communication and employment trajectory you can have with them.

Just because someone is moving into a new phase in their personal life, does not mean that their work and career is no longer important to them. It just re-jiggles the scale. The game of life moves forward and evolves.

We may ‘only’ be in the second trimester, but this is the time to set up the support network for their maternity journey. A professional Coach to be on hand and support your employees as they navigate into parental leave and out again. And whether they are first time parents or heading in again, there are still support needs.

If you’re in any doubt about what mothers really need, ask someone you know who has been through the work and parenthood journey and find out first hand.

This isn’t marketing. It’s caring.