Alicia Rius, a certified mental health coach, started The Powerful Mother to provide mental health coaching for postpartum mothers. She said many companies fail to care for their employees when they struggle emotionally, even if they do provide paid maternity leave. As much as 84 percent of working mothers face discrimination when returning to work after giving birth.
Working mothers face many difficulties, and Rius seeks to ease some of the emotional impacts by teaching corporations to provide adequate assistance. Parenthood and feeling a lack of support from the company is the main reason women decide to leave the workforce, which further exacerbates gender inequalities and tells working mothers they no longer have value as an employee.
“Companies need to broaden their support ecosystem and provide mental health care before maternity leave, during postpartum, and once they’ve joined the workforce,” Rius said. “Some corporations give more weeks maternity leave and feel proud because they’re supporting their female workforce — and it is key — but it’s just the first step.”
For a mother struggling with a mood disorder or mental health issues, the time off for maternity leave can be a special kind of hell without the proper support. Moreover, the need for mental health care should be extended to those recovering from stillbirth, miscarriage, and other pregnancy complications.
When companies make an effort to educate and prepare women for the transition into motherhood and the experience of returning to work, it helps prevent conditions that can compromise careers and negatively impact the company’s performance and culture.
Proper care benefits everyone
Proper mental health coaching for corporations at all stages of the pregnancy benefits all parties, resulting in birthing parents feeling valued as employees and choosing to return to work up to 90 percent more often. Including a postpartum coach for working mothers among maternity benefits leads to improved employee performance, profitability, and increased gender equality for the company.
Happy employees create role models who serve to attract and retain other talented women in the workforce. Women who feel valued and supported at work will tell others about the experience, building the company’s reputation as an inclusive, supportive employer while increasing loyalty among current workers.
The cost of disregard
“Becoming a parent is a very intense transition full of emotions, ranging from joy to panic, sadness, and even postpartum depression, and this process can be very disorienting,” Rius said.
Without proper mental health care support, the impact on a woman’s well-being can last for years. Disregarding the emotional and psychological struggles of female employees suffering from postpartum mood disorders has a cost—often, women leaving the workforce and lost time and money on professional training. Rius seeks to eradicate postpartum suffering through education for healthier and happier transitions to motherhood.
Losing female talent will have short-term and long-term consequences for the company, including high employee replacement costs, fewer qualified female employees, less diversity, and a widening gender pay gap. The Powerful Mother offers maternity mental health coaching for corporations, allowing them to address the problem and retain more women by becoming one of the top companies to work for as a woman and mother.
“There’s a big unspoken fear that having babies can damage a woman’s career prospects. It’s essential that your organization demonstrate that’s not the case by creating an inspiring work culture around working mothers,” Rius said.
Conclusion
Alicia Rius continues to educate individuals and corporations about postpartum mood and anxiety disorders through The Powerful Mother. To learn more about how The Powerful Mother can help corporations support their workforce, visit the website or reach out on social media at Instagram.
Media ContactCompany Name: The Powerful MotherContact Person: Alicia RiusEmail: Send EmailCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://thepowerfulmother.com/for-corporations
