Pregnancy loss shouldn't be a taboo topic in the workplace

"In 2015, I had a stillborn baby girl. I found out during a prenatal appointment that my daughter had no heartbeat. Because I was in my second trimester, I was admitted to the hospital's labor and delivery ward. The same ward where women deliver live babies. Except I did not get to bring my baby home. October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. I've talked openly about pregnancy loss for many years. I've advocated for more openness in the workplace."

"Unfortunately, pregnancy loss often falls into a gap in companies' bereavement policies. They don't allow any time off for a miscarriage or stillbirth. I met a woman through a support group who delivered her stillborn baby via C-section and had to go back to work mere days later. When there's no living baby, maternity leave does not apply. And the standard three-day bereavement leave that many companies have is wholly inadequate."

"It's mostly up to individual employers to craft their own policies. Many years later, I was working for a young company that was working to solidify its leave policies for the first time. I asked the HR person to include pregnancy-loss leave specifically. I said, "You don't want to wait until a situation comes up and then be scrambling to define the leave." I fear that happens too often."

In 2015 a stillborn daughter was discovered during a prenatal appointment when no fetal heartbeat was detected. The pregnancy loss required admission to a labor and delivery ward during the second trimester, and the baby could not be brought home. October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and the writer has spoken openly about pregnancy loss and advocated for more workplace openness to honor the child and support grieving parents. Many companies' bereavement policies exclude miscarriage and stillbirth, leaving parents with only inadequate three-day leaves or no leave. Only a few U.S. states guarantee bereavement leave for pregnancy loss, so most policy decisions fall to employers. The writer urged an employer to include pregnancy-loss leave proactively to avoid scrambling when situations occur.

Read at Fast Company