Should Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Take Maternity Leave?
- July 18, 2012
- by Melissa Lawrence
Hello Mamas (and Future Mamas) everywhere! Are you pregnant with your first child? Maybe it’s your second or third! If you’re leaving a job for a bit to care for your new bundle of joy and planning to return, the length of your maternity leave has got to be top of mind.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer
So there’s a lot of talk this week about new Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who is pregnant with her first child. She has stated that she will only be taking a few weeks of maternity leave and that she will be working throughout. Some moms agree with Marissa, others think she should stay home longer with the baby.
Any working moms with their own advice ?
Returning To Work After Maternity Leave
In my view, Marissa’s is a very unique situation, as she is stepping into a job at a company that has been in turmoil recently, so it’s improbable she could have taken the full maternity leave. At the same time, I think she needs to be sensitive to the role she’s playing as a public figure. We don’t want employers all over the country assuming that after several weeks, new moms are physically and emotionally ready to pop back into the conference room! I sure wasn’t, and ideally, each mom has some time at home to learn how to care for her baby.
For more thoughts on this hot button issue, watch my vlog!
What about you? Did you feel you needed a long maternity leave? Were you ready to go back to work? (I know I sure wasn’t) Share your opinions by commenting below or Tweet me @CloudMom.
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Comments
GerL
I agree that this is a very unique situation, and I also agree with your comment that until you go through it, you don’t totally understand what it is like to have a newborn as well as you don’t know how your baby will be. I think that maybe it is premature for her to say she will work throughout it. What does that mean – she is taking a few weeks but is working throughout it? Even with the best support system, I think the first few weeks with your first baby can be challenging as well as precious. I had 6 months off with my first child and I loved every minute of it. The first few weeks can be hard though – I remember it taking me forever just to get out the door! I breastfed and I remember I felt like I was always feeding him or changing him – that alone takes up a good part of your day with a newborn! Even if the baby is easy, your hormones are so out of wack the first few weeks – might be dangerous for her to be running a big company!!!
Melissa-CloudMom
I really agree with what you are saying…it is an intense and special time.
Thanks for watching us!
xo, M
marlenecpm
I don’t agree with either stance. I believe in integrating your job & family, esp the newborns, who need the constant presence of their mothers. I have 7 kids, breastfed each for 3 yrs each. And I do mean I really nursed them, not bottle fed pumped breastmilk, either! I attended a staff mtg 20 mins after my one dd was born, granted the mtg got a little late start, because the placenta hadn’t been yet delivered when the other midwives showed up for the mtg, but after that slight delay, it was business as usual! I was back at work 10 hrs after one ds was born, had PTA mtg 15 hrs after another sons birth, Took both a DS & DD with me to school when they were 1st born (not at the same time!) & had a literally still-wet-behind-the-ears baby to the library when I was doing research for a project (Before internet). I must have been born in the wrong century, because I was one of those peasant women you used to read about, working in the field, squat down, plop out a baby, tie it securely to their breast or back, & keep on working.
I think it’s a shame we are such a CYA, suit-happy society that more women don’t have the opportunity to wear their babies while they work. I wore my babies in such a way that they could sleep or nurse, secure at my breast, while had both my hands & my brain free to carry on my daily tasks. Breaks for diaper changes take less time from work than smoke breaks & is a lot healthier! Not once in all those years did any of my babies get hurt, while I was wearing them at work, nor did caring for them impede my ability to do my job.