How To Support Your Employee Through Pregnancy, Maternity Leave and the Transition Back To Work

Today was my first day back to work at Sourcegraph after my 3 1/2 months* long maternity leave. I consider myself lucky to be working at a company that is family friendly and has made my journey to parenthood much easier than expected. I decided to share some of the points I believe Sourcegraph and others do right and I encourage companies to follow.

1. Have a parental leave policy ready and help your employee file the correct forms at the Employment Development Department. I was hired pregnant and despite having the first pregnancy in the company, Sourcegraph had it’s parental policy in place and I was supported throughout the entire process of filing for State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) claims. This turned out to be a blessing, as the application process was quite cumbersome and confusing.

2. Be supportive of your pregnant employees: Creating a baby is hard! The more the pregnancy progresses, the bigger toll it will take on your employee. Have a supportive environment in which your employee feels safe sharing their needs and struggles. Offer to adapt their workload/focus accordingly.

3. Get necessary props: There are numerous props that can make pregnancy way more comfortable for your employee and help…