A Research Paper By Lauren Purse, Transition Coach & Confidence Coaching for Women, NEW ZEALAND
Maternity Coaching for Parents and Employers
Parents, most often mothers, who take time off from paid employment to raise their infants face a variety of feelings and thoughts when reintegrating back into the workforce. Fear of being overlooked for promotions; being unable to work 12-hour days, evenings, or weekends; inflexible managers and colleagues; questioning self-worth and value; a lack of empathy and understanding towards your new situation; and when and where to pump to keep your milk supply going. They not only hold the anticipation of these things but according to a survey carried out by Bloom UK (2021) are experiencing them regularly.
Purpose
As a new mum, the thought of going back to a full-time job alongside being a parent fills me with trepidation and anxiety. How will I be a good mum whilst working 40 hours a week? How will I be able to concentrate on work for 8 hours a day? How will I deal with taking days off when my son is sick?
I know from conversations with friends and peers that I am obviously not the first or only mother to feel this way. Finding a company that is willing to be flexible, empathetic, and supportive of returning to work after a gap in your career is daunting enough, without having the new responsibility of taking care of an infant on less sleep and a brain that is now laser-focused on said infant (Dobrow DiMarco, 2021).
This has led me to consider the importance of workplace coaching for parents returning to a previous role, or new one, and the impact it plays in supporting them to succeed in their chosen employment.
There are a number of areas to explore in relation to maternity coaching, including the use of the phrase itself, whether or not it meets the needs of diverse family constructs, and potential improvements to support this.
This paper asks: What are the benefits and current limitations of Maternity Coaching for parents and employers? It will explore what Maternity Coaching is, its benefits to both the employee and employer, some risks if not implemented, and will offer possible improvements of maternity coaching to encourage it to be more widely integrated, progressive, and inclusive.
Audience
This paper hopes to provide a succinct summary of the above to help Human Resources teams consider if they are providing the best possible support for new parents, and how maternity coaching could be a robust option to complement current offerings. Given there is so much to consider for new parents and parents-to-be in the transition to parental leave, becoming parents, and then back into employment, this paper also hopes to offer these groups a starting point to advocate for transition coaching for both their parenting and career journeys.
Findings
Definition of Maternity Coaching
Maternity coaching is a change management process that offers support from pregnancy through birth and the return to work (Morris, 2022). It aims to offer employees, mostly mothers, a positive and empathetic transition from pre-parenthood to parenthood. The sessions offer practical and emotional support for those navigating a difficult and ever-changing period in their lives. Coach Angela Fusaro (Every Mother Knows) works with companies offering maternity coaching to support parents with 1:1 sessions as well as implementing a work plan to encourage a smooth transition back into work. Kimberley Thomas goes further and says it allows new mums to objectively assess their ‘strengths and skills that [they’re] bringing back to the workplace’ (2021, February 8th).
Benefits of Maternity Coaching
Employees
When thinking solely about mothers, coach Melanie Ramachandran (2023) says that maternity coaching is important to support the impacts of baby brain fog, a good work/life balance, and the reconnection back to a working self. Angela Rusaro (n.d.) adds to this by stating that ‘Pregnancy and giving birth are one of the most critical transitions in an employee’s life’.
A variety of practical and emotional aspects of blending parenting and employment can, and often need to, be explored. According to Turner (2020) returning mothers suffer from a lack of confidence following significant changes in the workplace whilst they have been on parental leave. Vitzthum (2017) suggested that return-to-work coaching for mothers helps them to consider a wide range of themes that they may not address in general workplace management such as parental guilt, reputation, and boundaries.
Business
Parental Leave in many countries is already seen as an expense to the company, particularly if they are topping up your statutory parental leave subsidy from the government (Brearley, 2021). So, why add to it with maternity coaching?
Businesses that offer robust manager, supervisory and organizational support have employees who have a happier work/family life (Sabil et. al, 2018). Personally, when I have experienced positive and supportive supervision in a workplace, and when I have offered it to my own teams, I have seen both personal and team growth rather than resignations. So, what role can maternity coaching play in helping businesses to hold onto talent rather than lose it? And, who is doing it?
Becoming a parent is a life-changing experience that involves a huge amount of adaptation and transition that impacts everything from our routines to expectations, and our identities. According to Pregnant then Screwed, 30% of mothers who return to work do so with mental health issues (Brearley, 2021). In a survey by Bloom UK (2021), 40% of mothers returning to work had a more negative experience than they expected, and 63% of mothers who had a negative experience in returning to work after parental leave left their company within 6 months.
Employers are at risk of losing talent if they are unable to offer the right support to parents returning to the workplace, with a real financial impact. According to Indeed (n.d.), it could cost a business between $4,000 – $20,000 to recruit a new employee. Ernst and Young reported that it costs them, on average, 150% of an employee’s salary to rehire for the same role (Siegel Bernard, 2016).
Maternity coaching isn’t only about the bottom line for businesses. Turner (2020) states that companies that implement maternity coaching have the opportunity to add to societal shifts by reducing the gender pay gap and supporting women’s career growth.
From a US and European perspective, companies like Ernst and Young, Deutsche Bank, and Etsy have been offering parental coaching, regardless of gender, for a number of years (Siegel Bernard, 2016). However, on initial analysis, countries like New Zealand and Australia are much further behind.
To understand, briefly, if women in New Zealand experienced maternity coaching. I created a basic Yes / No poll in a private Facebook Group called ‘Women in Business NZ’ (2023, August 4th). It asked if ‘anyone ever received Maternity or Parental Coaching before, during parental leave or on returning to work after bringing a child into your family?’, all 21 who answered said no (see Appendix 1). It also raised questions from a number of people in the group about what maternity coaching was. This provides a brief insight into the gap in maternity coaching in businesses in New Zealand.
Limitations of Maternity Coaching
Traditionally, maternity coaching has been implemented in an attempt to retain the skills and experience of mothers in the workplace. However, I would argue that whilst this is incredibly important, it is equally important to offer the same level of support to the caregiver who returns to work almost immediately after their child is brought into their family.
To take this argument even further, as Le Sueur and Boulton (2021) state, ‘people are [an organization’s] principal asset’ then this same support should be offered to all parents, however, they become parents and no matter their gender identification.
A recently released study found that the majority of fathers returning to work had negative feelings in the immediate postnatal period, including guilt, sadness, anxiety, a lack of motivation, and a professional disconnect (Hodgson et al., 2023). Some of the study participants suggested a form of 1:1 or group transitional talking support would be helpful for this phase of their life and could help to alleviate their negative thoughts and feelings.
I identified no other research papers that covered the experience of queer, gender diverse, or adoptive families and their experience of maternity coaching. Which, I believe, links to the fact that the name itself is a limitation of maternity coaching.
Globally, we are at a point where the importance of pronouns, gender expression, and the construct of families is being acknowledged and acted upon in certain industries. I feel that there is a considerable amount more to be done in this space, and that offering a gender-neutral form of transitional coaching for those choosing to be parents could be an excellent next step in encouraging more acceptance and support.
Critiquing the Limitations of Maternity Coaching
This paper has added to the conversation about the benefits of maternity coaching, providing an updated summary of implementing a transitional coaching program for employees. It has extended the conversation further by critiquing the limitations of maternity coaching in relation to gender, familial construct, and non-heteronormative gender roles.
Limitations
There are limitations to this research paper. The most obvious is the limited data around what is offered by a majority of HR departments without conducting interviews and analysis directly with them and their employees. There is also a very small pool of research papers that analyze the topic explored.
The world of work is vast and contains myriad industries that are both regulated and unregulated, unionized and not, progressive and conservative. These contrasts and conflicts have borne even more questions around equality, the importance of offering transitional coaching, and how we offer it to support an ever-evolving workforce.
Here is a sample:
- Does the term maternity coaching cover those adopting, same-sex couples, gender-fluid people, those identifying as men, and the primary caregivers?
- What is a better term?
- Does maternity coaching happen informally?
- How can a form of transitional coaching be embedded into HR culture?
What is clear from the research conducted for this paper, is that transitional coaching for new parents is and can be successful. Not only in supporting parents to adjust to their “new norm” but also for companies to retain talent, save money, and continue to gain value from employees who may otherwise have chosen to leave due to lack of support.
Bloom UK (2021) advised the Communications industry to implement return-to-work coaching to support mothers to not only have a positive transition but to ensure they are nurturing female talent. 59% of the mothers surveyed agreed, saying that they felt workplace coaching would make this transition a positive experience.
Recommendations
For Human Resources teams who wish to implement a more robust and equitable transitional coaching:
Diverse Family Constructs
Consider who is impacted by bringing a child into their life – it is not only those carrying a child. As discussed above, the secondary caregiver is also deeply impacted by a return to work, especially in those early days when sleep deprivation is at high levels, and hormonal and emotional shifts are happening on an almost daily basis for both partners. Children are also brought into families through both official and familial fostering and adoption, and I believe that considering transitional coaching for families that are built and evolve in this way is equally as important.
Words matter
Consider renaming Maternity Coaching to something that is non-gendered and more inclusive of the above such as ‘Transitional Parenting Coaching’ / ‘Transitional Family Coaching’ / ‘Parental Leave Coaching’
Safe Spaces
Consider keeping a database of external Coaches you have met and interviewed who work in maternity / transitional coaching, and who bring a diversity of experience that you can offer to your employees. In-house coaches are a wonderful asset to have within a workplace, however, external coaching and support often feel safer to access for employees, particularly if they are dealing with difficult work situations.
For parents-to-be, new parents, and new guardians here are some encouragements:
Coaching
Consider advocating for yourself for transitional coaching. As explored above, Maternity Coaching is, at its most basic level, transitional coaching and this is going to be one of the biggest transitions of your life; regardless of the role you will be playing in the immediate. Coaching can offer you a safe, exploratory space to not only set goals but also identify areas of challenge and improvement.
Internal Support
If transitional coaching isn’t available to you through your work, what support could you ask for from your manager or supervisor? Could you ask for a similar in-house set-up to transitional coaching to help you understand what you might need before your parental leave, during it, and then on your return to work?
To conclude, the importance of transitional coaching for parents cannot be understated and it should be made more readily available, across a wider cross-section of people than what maternity coaching currently offers. This paper has explored the benefits and limitations of maternity coaching and has unintentionally allowed me to analyze this market, particularly in New Zealand. As a women’s transition and confidence coach and a member of the queer community, I have gained a greater understanding of what I could offer to my clients, the companies they work for, and how I might develop my coaching niche further in the years to come.
References
Gregory, Z (2021), ‘The Great Return: Ensuring work really works for new mothers – and our industry. A practical Guide covering the run-up to maternity leave, during leave itself, and the return of Bloom UK and Major Players.
Brearley, J (2021). ‘Pregnant then Screwed: The Truth About the Motherhood Penalty’. Gallery Books, Simon & Schuster UK Ltd.
Brearley, J. (2023). ‘Advice: Mental Health Support at Work’. Pregnant then Screwed.
Dobrow DiMarco, I. (2021). ‘Mom Brain: Proven Strategies to Fight the Anxiety, Guilt, and Overwhelming Emotions of Motherhood—and Relax Into Your New Self’. United Kingdom: Guilford Publications
Filsinger, C (2012) ‘How can Maternity Coaching influence Women’s Re-engagement with their Career Development: a Case Study of a Maternity Coaching Programme in UK-Based Private Law Firms’. International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring Special Issue No.6, June 2012 46-56.
Fusaro, A. (n.d.) ‘Inspire, grow and develop your community of working parents: Talent development programmes and hiring solutions for diverse and inclusive workplaces. Maternity Coaching’. Every Mother Knows.
Hodgson, S.; Painter, J.; Kilby, L.; Hirst, J. (2023) “Crying on the bus”: First Time Fathers’ Experiences of Distress on Their Return to Work. Healthcare 2023, 11 (1352).
Indeed (n.d). ‘What Is the Cost of Hiring New Employees?’ Indeed for Employers.
Le Sueur, H., & Boulton, E. (2021). ‘Professional women and maternity transition: Guidelines for maternity coaching in organizations’. SA Journal of Human Resource Management (19), 13 pages.
Morris, R (2022, 6th October) ‘Maternity Coaching: More Than A Nice-To-Have’. CEO Today Magazine.
Push Far (2021, March). ‘Mentoring vs Coaching: The Key Differences and Benefits’. Push Far.
Ramachandran, M. (2023, 11th May) ‘The ‘transitional phase’ identity shift that happens after motherhood, and the career support that could make all the difference’. Women’s Agenda.
Sabil, S., Halim, F. A., Abdullah, S. B. W. M., Hassan, Z., & Bandar, N. F. A. (2018). ‘The Relationship between Social Supports and Work-Family Enrichment in Public Sector: Mediating Role of Opportunities for Professional Development.’Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal, 10(2), 232+.
Siegel Bernard, S (2016, 22nd July) ‘Why companies have started to coach new parents’. The New York Times.
Thomas, K. (2021, February 8th). ‘Why offer coaching to women going on, or returning from maternity leave?’. LinkedIn.
Turner, S (Podcast Host) (2020, November 19th) ‘Episode 3: How does Maternity Coaching Benefit Returning Parents and the Organisation?’. The Coaching Question Podcast.
Vitzthum, C (2017). ‘How can maternity-return coaching complement structural organizational benefits?’. International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring. Special Issue 11, June 2017. 44 – 56
Appendix 1
Facebook Poll