Creating a Human-Centered Maternity Leave
By: Natalya Wade
“Policies are more than administrative documents—they're living expressions of your organizational values.” In one of TTW’s previous blogs called 5-Step Roadmap to Crafting Human-Centered Policies we outlined how organizations can offer values-aligned policies that help center collective care and wellness.
Here’s how I experienced this in action. Recently, I returned from Maternity Leave as a new employee at The Teaching Well. Having also been pregnant and postpartum as a full-time classroom teacher and then full-time administrator, the contrast between these experiences was enlightening. So what might a human-centered Maternity Leave look like? Here are some shared learnings at the personal, interpersonal, and systemic levels, based on what felt supportive during my journey and may also support you, or someone you know.
When Sharing News @ Work:
Personal: Ground yourself in your truth. This may look different for everyone and joy may come in waves (or not at all). Try a grounding practice like taking 3 deep belly breaths with your hand gently on your belly (and/or heart) before sharing your news. Or explore a Duality Practice to reflect on conflicting feelings.
Pre-Leave:
Personal/Interpersonal: If you are a direct supervisor, you might consider dedicating 5 minutes of protected time on your 1:1 agenda to reflect on and plan their pre/post-leave transitions. This was instrumental for me to schedule personal time post-leave that didn’t consist of being a mom, wife, employee, facilitator, etc. It also naturally transformed into using the 3 P’s Framework* to continue my personal growth reflection.
*3 P’s Framework: Brings awareness to our complex identities by honoring our 3 P’s: Personal, Provider, and Professional, in order to invite more balance into each role.
Interpersonal/Systemic: Share communication preferences with teammates. Be specific if it’s okay for them to text/call/visit and make sure this aligns with HR Policy.
Interpersonal: Going on maternity leave can feel like you are adding more to-do’s for your colleagues. As a work community, brainstorm ways to center joy and unity for your teammate. Some low cost ideas that felt supportive include:
Sharing intentions and positive wishes during an all-staff meeting;
Going on walks together (during the workday or weekend);
Building a shared gift basket with self-care items; and/or
Creating a Meal Train or contributing meal gift cards.
Post-Leave:
Personal: Check in with your body before and after interactions with others - whether it’s with a large group or 1:1 meeting. This 5-4-3-2-1 sensory practice may be the difference between pushing through and creating space to honor your body’s needs at that moment.
Systemic: Consider adding a “Wellness Stipend” to employee benefits. This can be a great way to continue (or start) wellness habits post-leave in support of employee sustainability.
Systemic: Consider incorporating a “First Year of Life” policy that allows for both bonding and feedings to go interrupted. At The Teaching Well, this looks like allowing both the baby and a caregiver to attend work obligations with the mother (such as internal retreats) during that first year of the baby’s life.
If you’re a leader at your school or organization wondering how to take the first step to create or revise your policies, I invite you to read The Teaching Well’s 5-Step Roadmap to Crafting Human-Centered Policies or listen to our Executive Director, Lindsey Fuller, and Deputy Director, Marisol Pineda Conde, share their learnings in Gather at the Well Podcast.