Empowering Maternity: How Coaching Supports Career-Driven Mothers and Forward-Thinking Employers
Welcome to Your Crossroads: Where Career Ambitions Meet Family Dreams
Are you feeling torn between the career you're passionate about and the family you love deeply? You're not alone. Standing at the crossroads of motherhood and a thriving professional life is a profound experience for many women. Maternity leave marks a significant life event that offers both challenges and opportunities, where your professional aspirations and your family commitments intersect in deeply personal ways.
As someone who's navigated this journey personally and now guides others through it, I understand the complexities involved. It's not just about balancing your job's demands with your family's needs—it's about thriving in both spaces without compromising on what makes you feel fulfilled and happy.
Maternity coaching is your ally in this transformative phase of life. It provides the support, insights, and tools you need to make this transition confidently. Whether you're preparing to take maternity leave, in the midst of it, or planning your return to work, the right guidance can make all the difference. And for employers committed to supporting their staff through these transitions, investing in maternity coaching is not just good practice—it's a commitment to fostering a supportive, inclusive, and productive workplace.
Together, we can redefine what it means to be a working parent. We can create pathways that allow ambitious professional women to continue their career trajectory without sidelining their dreams of family life. Let's navigate this journey together, crafting a world where you don't have to choose between your career and your family—you can excel at both.
As we approach International Coaching Week (13th - 19th May), it's time to spotlight a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of professional development—maternity coaching. For working mothers, the journey through maternity and back into the workforce can be a rollercoaster of emotions and challenges. Maternity coaching offers tailored support during this pivotal time, significantly enhancing the wellbeing of mothers and smoothing the transition back to work.
If you are interested in learning more I am delivering a webinar as part of ICF International Coaching Week with my fellow Coaching Mamas Helen Allwood and Jacqui Pett. Please sign up if you are interested.
Understanding Maternity Coaching
Maternity coaching is a specialised form that focuses on supporting women through the transitions associated with pregnancy, maternity leave, and the return to professional life. This type of coaching provides emotional, psychological, and career-related guidance tailored to expectant and new mothers' unique needs.
The First Return: A Smooth Transition
My first return to work after maternity leave was relatively seamless. I returned to a full-time role with flexible working arrangements, significantly easing my transition. My baby slept well, which was a huge relief, allowing me to better manage sleep and work responsibilities. The real game-changer, however, was the support system at my workplace—not just from management but from all my colleagues. This supportive environment allowed me to reintegrate into the professional sphere without feeling overwhelmed, maintaining my productivity and workplace relationships.
The Second Return: Facing New Challenges
The second time around, the circumstances were dramatically different. After five years of undergoing fertility treatments, I had a high-risk pregnancy during a global pandemic. My baby, unlike the first, had difficulty sleeping, which added an extra layer of complexity to my already challenging situation. Although I had supportive managers and a core team that understood my predicament, the hurdles and the emotional and physical toll were higher. Despite these challenges, I returned to work as a different person, with new needs and a new perspective on balancing professional and personal life.
The Maternity Pause: A Crucial Inflection Point in Career and Coaching
Maternity leave often serves as a critical pause in a woman's career, offering time to bond with her newborn and a chance to reflect on her professional journey and future aspirations. Given that 86% of women will become mothers by age 40, the implications of maternity on a woman’s career are substantial and widespread. Understanding and supporting this transition is crucial for the mothers and the organisations they are part of.
The Challenges of Returning to Work
The transition back to work after maternity leave is fraught with challenges that can be daunting for many. According to data from DPG Learn, Talking Talent, and Careers After Babies, the statistics are revealing and concerning:
88% of mothers experience problems when returning to work.
54% struggle to balance childcare with professional responsibilities.
52% feel guilty about spending time away from their children.
33% find it difficult to cover the costs of childcare.
12% face mental health issues related to their return.
These issues often lead to a significant 20% reduction in engagement, motivation, and workplace wellbeing. Unfortunately, these challenges also contribute to about 19% of mothers leaving the workforce within three years of childbirth, which presents considerable costs and operational challenges for organisations, including:
Increased workload due to the "empty chair" phenomenon.
Recruitment expenses range from £6,000 to over £36,000.
Time and costs involved in training new employees.
Initial lower productivity of new hires.
Loss of accumulated knowledge and expertise.
The Role of Maternity Coaching in Navigating the Transition
Maternity coaching offers a structured and empathetic approach to address these challenges, helping mothers to:
Manage emotions related to their return.
Rediscover their professional strengths and values.
Regain confidence in their capabilities.
Effectively juggle work and family commitments.
Strategise their re-entry and work logistics.
Utilise Keep In Touch (KIT) days optimally.
Address practical issues like childcare and flexible working arrangements.
Design their desired working pattern.
Maintain their personal identity and professional relevance.
Update their career plans and continue their professional development.
Enhance their engagement with their role, team, and organisation.
See how maternity and potential future leaves integrate with long-term career goals.
These coaching benefits are not just limited to the individual but extend to the organisation by:
Retaining valuable employees and supporting their growth.
Reducing turnover and associated recruitment and training costs.
Decreasing the need for expensive returnship programs.
Building a robust female talent pipeline.
Narrowing the gender pay gap.
Creating role models to inspire and attract talented women.
Fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture.
The Maternity Pause as a Strategic Reflection Point
The maternity pause is more than just a break from work; it's a pivotal period for strategic reflection and planning. It allows women to assess their current career status, define their professional desires, and align their personal goals with their long-term career trajectory. With the support of a maternity coach, mothers can make more informed decisions that balance short-term needs with long-term aspirations, thus preparing them for successful reintegration into the workplace.
The Imperative of Maternity Coaching
As we delve deeper into the benefits of maternity coaching, it becomes evident that such support is essential for nurturing women's careers and organisations' health. Maternity coaching not only helps bridge the gap between personal and professional life but also acts as a crucial mechanism for businesses to enhance their operational efficacy, employee satisfaction, and overall cultural health.
By investing in maternity coaching, organisations can transform a potentially disruptive pause into a productive period of growth and development, thereby ensuring that both the individual and the institution emerge stronger and more resilient.
Embracing Maternity Coaching: A Personal Journey and Professional Insight
Reflecting on my transitions back into the workplace after maternity leaves, I recognise how established flexible working policies in my organisation provided a solid foundation for negotiation. However, even with these policies in place, navigating the complexities of returning to work was a challenge that could have been significantly eased with the support of a maternity coach.
1. Support for Flexible Working
Having flexible working options already embedded in the company culture certainly helped me when negotiating my own terms upon returning. In fact, on my first return, the flexibility for all meant I didn’t have to ask. Knowing that the organisation was receptive to flexible working arrangements was empowering. Yet, without the personalised guidance of a maternity coach, I often found myself unsure how to frame best my requests to align with my new responsibilities and career aspirations. I remember the nerves, the guilt and the difficulty in advocating for myself at an incredibly vulnerable time, that heavy feeling in my heart that I was different now. A coach would have provided expert advice on negotiating terms that benefit both the employee and the employer, ensuring a smooth transition back to work that supports sustained career progression.
2. Tools for Juggling Multiple Responsibilities
The support structure for flexible working was a boon, yet managing the daily juggle of career and family responsibilities was still overwhelming. As a maternity coach, I now equip mothers with effective strategies for time management and task prioritisation, which are essential for maintaining balance. These tools help mothers manage their roles without burnout, something I struggled with. The presence of a coach during my transition would have been invaluable in helping me apply the company’s flexible policies most effectively, ensuring that I could fulfill both my professional and personal roles efficiently.
3. Adjusting to a New Identity
Transitioning to a parental role while maintaining a professional identity is a significant change that can create internal conflicts about returning to work. While my employer’s flexibility was supportive, the personal journey of integrating these identities was challenging. A maternity coach would have been instrumental in guiding me through this identity shift, helping me merge my new parental role with my professional life in an authentic and empowering way. This personalised support would have facilitated a more confident return to the workplace.
4. Emotional and Psychological Support
The emotional return to work is fraught with complex feelings, including guilt and anxiety, which I personally experienced. While supportive colleagues and flexible work options provided some comfort, a maternity coach offering a dedicated space to address these emotions would have been a game changer. Coaches provide not only reassurance but also practical coping strategies, tailored to individual needs. This level of support could have alleviated much of the emotional burden I carried, enhancing my overall well-being and workplace engagement.
The Integral Role of Maternity Coaching in a Flexible Work Environment
Though my organisation's flexible working policies laid a beneficial groundwork for my return to work, the journey highlighted the indispensable role of maternity coaching. This personalised support goes beyond what organisational policies can offer, providing strategic guidance tailored to each mother’s unique situation. Maternity coaching ensures that mothers return to work and thrive, leveraging flexible working arrangements to their fullest potential.
For organisations committed to supporting working mothers, integrating maternity coaching into their support offerings can significantly enhance the effectiveness of existing policies, promoting a healthier, more inclusive, and more productive workplace.
As we look ahead to International Coaching Week, I invite you to reflect on the intersection of your career ambitions and your dreams of family life. Whether you're about to embark on maternity leave, in the thick of it, or preparing for your return, remember: you don't have to navigate this pivotal moment alone. Maternity coaching guides you through each step, ensuring that you transition smoothly and confidently back into your professional life without losing sight of what's truly important—your family.
Closing thoughts
For those of you who love your careers but treasure your family time just as deeply, know that there is a way to thrive in both. And for employers who truly want to support their staff during these transitions, understand that investing in maternity coaching isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a strategic move towards a more inclusive, productive, and resilient organisation.
Let's move forward together, crafting pathways that don't force a choice between professional growth and personal happiness. Join me and my fellow Coaching Mamas for our upcoming webinar during International Coaching Week, where we will dive deeper into how maternity coaching can transform personal lives and workplace cultures. This journey is about redefining what it means to be a working parent in today’s world—creating environments where careers and families are balanced and mutually enriching.
Let's embrace this journey not just as a challenge to be met but as an opportunity to be seized, an opportunity to shape a career that honours and integrates every part of who you are, including the incredible role of being a parent. Together, we can redefine the workplace, making it a place where mothers don't just return but advance and thrive. Join us, and let's make this vision a reality.
Take Care
Helen
If you want to know more about please reach out and book a call