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Staying on Top While You're Waiting to Pop

The Working Woman's Guide to Pregnancy and Maternity Leave

By Shannon McKelden

"[Women] often don't think about if something unexpected happens, like if they have a complication and their doctor orders bed rest for the last month of pregnancy," says Nora Plesent, founder of Lexolution, a Washington, D.C., company that helps create flexible work environments and opportunities for lawyers, particularly women.

Early deliveries can also derail a well-laid plan. "Because both my pregnancies ended up being complicated by pregnancy-induced hypertension, I left pretty suddenly and quite early: both babies were born at 35 weeks," says Michelle Branco, of Mississauga, Ontario. "So unfortunately, I had very little chance to plan ahead."

How long – or short – maternity leave will be is another important decision. "Women often don't think about how easy or hard it is to stay home," Plesent says. "Or they just determine while on maternity leave that they want to stay out longer or come back slowly, such as one or two days a week for the first month."

Judy Jackson, a Florida fire marshal and arson investigator when she became pregnant, planned her leave carefully. "I had saved up a tremendous amount of sick leave time and vacation time," Jackson says. "I trained others to do a lot of my work while I was gone but still was available for the tough stuff and consulting. At the end of my pregnancy I was bed ridden but continued to work from home – a courier would bring work to me and take it back to the fire department."

Discuss options like these ahead of time so everyone knows your intentions. Plesent suggests being honest with yourself and your employer. "One thing women do is push themselves in one way or the other," she says. "They feel guilty about not going back to work or about going back to work."

Want to see more?

• Planning Ahead: A Maternity Leave Primer
• Paternity Leave: Why It's Important to Consider Taking Paternity Leave
• More Than a Job: Managing Your Career and Pregnancy
• Check out our Article Library.
• Talk about it!