When you discover you’re pregnant, it’s hard to imagine ever being happier than right at that moment. This feeling of euphoria knows no bounds and you want to share this happiness with everybody. All at once, a realisation occurs out of nowhere which makes you wonder how this pregnancy could impact your future work or career path.
Some women go through this process of feeling doubt, wondering whether their work colleagues will be genuinely supportive, whether they will point out the potential negatives and not be extraordinarily pleased – as you are, about your impending bundle of joy.
Once you’re sure that you’ll be taking a significant period of time away from work while you have your baby, you need to carefully consider all the potential repercussions. It is important to make everyone aware of what is going to happen, of course, but you want to be sure that you have dotted all your “i’s” and crossed all your “t’s” as well. You have much to consider and it can seem daunting – you may be tempted to seek out online life coaching from one of the many expert websites dedicated to coaching for women in your situation. You have a lot of potential repercussions to consider and professional coaching should be actively considered.
For instance, you should work out your timeline and try to figure out how it might effect your existing job, and how it could effect or impact your other colleagues as well. While most will likely be overjoyed for you, there may be a couple of questions in the back of their minds regarding your loyalty or your commitment to the work operation. You should seek to allay those fears as early as possible by devising a plan of attack.
One of the first things you cover should be the timetable, your intended day of leave and the day of return. Obviously, your baby may have other ideas and you should lay out the flexibility of the situation as best as possible. When you find out who will be covering for you, you will need to spend more time with them, of course. Do this as early as possible as you just never know exactly when the stork will arrive!
Try and assuage people’s fears about your commitment and let them know that you will return as fresh as ever, just as soon as you are able. While you are establishing principles, make sure that you do not give them an open invitation to call you at any time with any little work problem. By all means, keep in touch, but set limits as well for your own sanity! After all, for this period of time your baby is the number one priority.
While your enthusiasm and euphoria are understandable, remember that the world still turns and if you prepare efficiently, your bosses and colleagues will be as delighted as ever to see you, upon your return.
Amanda Alexander is the CEO of Coaching Mums. She is a widely renowned ICF accredited coach, who for more than six years, has been providing her services to thousands of working moms from across the Globe in an effort to bring balance back into their lives, help them lose their guilt, show them how to find the time to reinvent their passions, and most of all, to have fun every day! For truly inspiring articles and cutting edge professional coaching tips, sign up to receive our absolutely brilliant free newsletter “Inspire”, right now!
