I am 35 weeks pregnant and working full time. My employer’s policies are ‘family friendly,’ we are all promised equality, diversity and inclusion; After all we are one of the best Universities in the UK.
And it must be true, if I got a better internal job at 27/28 weeks pregnant! My happiness and that amazing feeling of achievement didn’t last for long. The contract that should have started in November 2017, was suddenly postponed until I come back from my maternity leave. It has been 5 weeks of informal chatting about it, me asking to speed things up as clearly my time is ticking and the stress that it is causing is really the last thing I need… them saying that they want to get it “right for me” and referring it from one person to another. Our HR team don’t know if the promotion before maternity leave, will guarantee me a better maternity pay. In the meantime my clock is really ticking… my bum is growing bigger and bigger and I feel sicker and sicker thinking about my new dream job and whether postponing somoene’s start date because they are pregnant is fair or not. And I feel like an idiot trying to fight for it, even though I know I am being treated unfairly. I can be starting my maternity leave anytime if the baby decides it is ready. And I would give anything, including this bloody job, to make sure the baby is well. But why do I need to go through all that stress. I should be so grateful for the opportunity I have been given… not moaning about the contract date. I should be choosing names and buying nappies, not calling ACAS and writing sad posts like this one!
To all the mamas – don’t let anybody make you feel mad and small and worthless while you are pregnant! It is the most amazing time of my life, this little miracle growing inside me. And it is also a reminder of how we are still being treated in the 21st century modern Britain… Being a mama must be more than this, I am more than this and will not let anybody walk all over me again… Wishful thinking on a Sunday night! I need 2 episodes of “The Office” before I face my own office tomorrow…