Pregnancy, Maternity & Paternity
At LUU, we are grateful to be based right next to Bright Beginnings which is an award-winning centre providing high quality childcare to students and staff members at the University of Leeds and LUU. It is rated as outstanding by Ofsted, and the location is convenient for parents as it is situated right on university campus. Additionally, the entire University campus is entirely breastfeeding friendly and there are no restrictions on bottle or breastfeeding within LUU and on the university campus. At LUU, we want to ensure that we support staff throughout pregnancy and parenthood. As such, we have a number of Family Friendly policies to support staff. Click here to view.
EDUCATION
Understanding some of the challenges people may face who have children or are experiencing pregnancy, maternity or paternity is really important. Here are a few resources to help better your understanding some of the issues faced and the strategies people have used to help.
Challenges and Strategies
Rosie Clark from Inclusive Employers shares her experience with returning to work after maternity leave. In this blog, Rosie talks about:
The key challenges when returning to work.
Strategies for an effective return to work.
Is this Anxiety?
On an emotionally raw journey, Dani Dyer and other young mums explore why new mothers struggle with anxiety, the pressure of being a 'good mum', and how come it's not spoken about more.
LGBTQ+ Parents
Michelle Daltry shares her journey to becoming a parent, the unique challenges she experienced and ideas on how employers and organisations can be more inclusive to LGBTQ+ parents.
Read: Becoming an LGBTQ+ parent – The other mother, or just “Mum”, is fine
SUPPORT
"Pregnant then screwed" is a charity founded by Joeli Brearly. She started it after experiencing discrimination at work whereby two days after she informed her employer that she was pregnant with her first child, she was sacked from her job by voicemail. her career and confidence was knocked, and it took a toll on her mental health. Realising that her experience was not unique, Joeli launched Pregnant Then Screwed on International Women’s Day in 2015, as a space for mothers to share their stories of discrimination. Below are some resources that they have shared. Find out more about their incredible journey here.
Mental Health Support
Pregnant then Screwed have partnered with Mind Charity to offer support via their helpline. Click here for more details.
Read Kate's experience using the helpine, and what happens after the call ends.
Stories and Experiences
There are many incidents of discrimination against pregnant women and women returning to work that occur every day. These women have shared their stories in the hope that it will encourage others to help tackle discrimination.
Paternity Leave
A recent study has revealed that countries with more than six weeks of paid paternity leave have a 4% smaller gender wage gap and 3.7% smaller labour force participation gap.
The Motherhood Penalty
This book by Joeli Brearley - founder of Pregnant then screwed - explores modern motherhood with practical advise on navigating discrimination in the workplace.