Pregnancy and the Workplace

I promised in my When to announce you are pregnant blogpost that I would write about my views of Pregnancy and the Workplace. Where do I begin?

These are my views based on my experiences and I hope you can relate. This is a touchy subject for me because I've been pregnant consecutively for the last 3 years working in Corporate America, and I've seen how pregnancy and pregnancy and infant loss has impacted my career thus far. As much as I thought the times have changed since the passing of the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the 1993 Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) pregnancy unfortunately still holds a negative stigma in Corporate America.

Becoming pregnant with BJ in 2012 was not planned and was quite the shock. I just relocated back to the east coast and started a new job working 12-14 hour rotating day/night shifts as a shift supervisor. I was determined not to let my crazy hormones and night sickness deter me from being a great supervisor. I worked my behind off not missing a beat all while working crazy hours and not getting enough rest. Not to mention my plant doubled in size by people and capacity that same year. Being pregnant while working shift work wasn't ideal, but when I lost BJ I questioned myself on why didn't I ask to be moved from shift work?!? Maybe the crazy shift work is what caused my son to die at birth I thought?!? When I returned to work my focus was still doing exceptionally well and it was praised during my annual performance review as a first time supervisor.

When I became pregnant in 2013 with Brielle, she wasn't planned but I wasn't on BC either. :) I felt like I was insane for doing the exact same thing expecting a different result. I was considered high risk this pregnancy since I lost BJ with an undetermined cause at the time. My doctor requested that I be moved to a regular 8-5pm schedule and off of shift work. I first went to HR with my doctors note then I went to my immediate supervisor and their boss to let them know of my doctors request. At the time I thought my request was well received. They accommodated my request and shifted others around to take my place as a shift supervisor. I loved being a shift sup, but I wanted and desired to be a mother far more. I lost one baby and didn't want to lose another. I thought that making the sacrifice of stepping down from a supervisor position would yield me a different result. I started working a regular day shift in June 2013 and lost Brielle in July 2013.

During my annual performance review it was said in so few words that making accommodations to move me from shift work to days was viewed as a performance opportunity even though it was a medical issue. No, I don't think I was discriminated against (because there are laws against pregnancy discrimination) nor do I think pregnancy should be reflected in my performance evaluation. It sucks, but it does! As much as your employer is excited for you to start a family they are less thrilled that you will be missing work for doctors appointments and taking time off when the baby comes. This stigma or perception is hard to shake even for new moms to be who are overcome with the shear hormonal changes and morning sickness the last thing they would think is questionable is their work performance.

When I became pregnant this year, FYI our baby boy was planned, I didn't want that negative stigma to follow me. I waited to tell people I was pregnant, my immediate supervisor was the only person who knew until 17 weeks along. Still to this day with my protruding belly many of my coworkers don't know or do I care to tell them I'm pregnant. I want my work to speak for itself even if it means I have to spend extra time and exert more effort than normal. To be honest I don't think my performance would be in question if I wasn't pregnant back to back. Sometimes I think if I had living children would my results be different?!? At the end of the day jobs come and go, but becoming a mother, holding and bringing home a healthy baby, and making my husband a father and our family complete is all that matters!


Keep the Faith!


Until next time,

~E


FYI: FMLA provided federal protection to men and women by mandating companies by law to grant 12 weeks of unpaid leave to men and women with issues related to pregnancy, childbirth, adoption, placement for foster care, and family sickness.