Pregnant in a Pandemic

There are now 60k cases in the US including about 17k in NYC. Anxiety for pregnant women these days is an understatement, made worse by the fact that we cannot even plan for the future as we would in a world without the virus. Because we don’t know what we are planning for. Typically when pregnant woman try to focus on what we can control, work usually comes to mind. Personally I was in the midst of fundraising for a new startup I plan to launch, before the epidemic hit. Now that’s obviously on hold. But for women who are expecting right now and in more traditional FT jobs, there are things you can do to help feel prepared.

Comparison is the thief of joy, Teddy Roosevelt once said. It’s tempting to compare our pregnancies deliveries and lives after with life before Coronavirus. But that’s not our world anymore. So maybe we should self-soothe by putting our energy into action instead. One person who can help is today's guest.

Lori Mihalich-Levin is a mother, lawyer, and founder of www.MindfulReturn.com, a program that helps parents navigate the return to work after parental leave. She also wrote a book called Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave (http://amzn.to/2lZJLm3). Today we are discussing ways that pregnant women can make a plan, consider their options, make themselves relevant at work, communicate well with employers...and create some sense of plan for our collectively uncertain future.

Check out a key resource she shared for pregnant women: Mindful Return Blog Post: How to Create a Maternity Leave Plan Your Employer Will Love