Hello World,
Hot topic here!!
While being 7 months pregnant with my second child, I was asked on several occasions, when I planned to be off. As I stopped working a week before the due date with the first one, my answer was not different: “until the end if I can”. As the question was rephrased, I quickly realized that they might not be referring to the due date. I insisted I had no other plan. And I understood why it would be useful to know. But “hello”, I am not able to foresee the future yet! I could not give a better answer.
Either they were wondering if I had plans to get some rest before the storm, since that pregnancy was more difficult than the first or…we, women, have made a mistake in our efforts to be treated as the equals of men at work?
That sounds bad, right? And don’t misinterpret me here, we should totally be treated as equals.
I am sure that many women would recognize themselves in that role of super hero we all want to be: being pregnant and not missing a day, putting extra hours and defending our jobs like tigers. And once back from maternity leave, showing that nothing has changed. And being proud of it!
But what if in our efforts to show we’re capable to maintain the rhythm – that pregnancy or maternity doesn’t have to disturb the course of our lives – we have created that very expectation?
Nowadays, C-sections are routine, planed ahead and even for non-medical reasons. Instead of being of support to one another, we’ve even come to create different groups: the warriors who went through natural birth, the “to posh to push”, etc.
But back to the point. What if the pressure to keep up at work was so strong that women had at some point given-in and decided to go for the C-section in order to fit this milestone in their busy agenda? How convenient right? But convenient for whom? Haven’t we lost rights and sight of reality, of what nature is?
Pregnancy and maternity are beautiful events in which we should take pride, not feel guilt about or in competition while dealing with that “side event”. It gives a false image of what it is. We’re human first and pregnancy, delivery and maternity are the most natural things we were made for. I understand we don’t always have the choice. But maybe we should be more attentive to the consequences of our actions. We live in a world where we are disconnected from the most natural processes. And I strongly believe that as women, we are able to show that while the natural processes take place, it doesn’t mean we’re offside. Some things can wait, life cannot. And to give in by accommodating the corporate world shouldn’t be the path to take.
Don’t forget that behind every successful woman, there’s a tribe of them who have her back! Work hard, play hard but remember to be human!
And you, have you ever come across a similar situation?
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