Pregnant and job hunting? Here’s how to navigate the search

Looking for new employment can be a daunting and anxiety-ridden process for any person. Being pregnant while job-seeking puts the process on a whole other level. Oftentimes, pregnant job seekers must face obstacles when it comes to things like disclosing their condition during interviews, understanding their legal rights, assessing benefits at their new potential workplace, and managing stress throughout everything.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 3,659,289 live births in 2021, up 1 percent from the previous year. The US Census Bureau has found that when a working individual has their first child, they experience a permanent setback in their likelihood of continued employment—as well as a major drop in their earnings. Despite this, pregnant people indeed continue to work and seek new employment opportunities across industries.

Disclosing your pregnancy

What’s the right thing to do when it comes to considering whether or not to disclose a pregnancy to a potential employer during the interview process?

“I think that if the initial call is over the phone, just don’t mention it and see if you’re interested in the job,” says Lynn Berger, a New York City-based career coach and consultant. “But if the process progresses and you think you want to meet people and take this [more] seriously, I think it’s better to tell people.” Berger adds that it does of course depend on “how comfortable you feel” and “what the repercussions of not bringing it up” might be, but ultimately thinks most workplaces would be accepting of an interviewee delivering the news that they are pregnant.

Chicago-based advertising executive Susan, 36, who opted to not use her real name for this article, said that when she was pregnant with her first child she was also in interview rounds with a prestigious agency. She was not visibly showing yet and was uncertain about whether she should share the news with her potential future employer. “It was a tough call because I didn’t want [the employer] to potentially, even subconsciously, discriminate against me,” Susan said. “I knew the maternity leave policy at this company was very generous, but I wasn’t so sure if the hiring manager would be dubious about hiring someone who would be on leave a few months later.” In the end, Susan shared the news and was relieved to be met with kindness, though that’s not always the case.

A pregnant job seeker’s legal rights

While most pregnancy discrimination laws favor already-employed individuals, people who are pregnant and looking for a new job do have some legal rights. Even if an individual is obviously visibly pregnant, they legally do not_ _have to disclose this to their interviewer if they don’t want to, and hiring managers could get into legal trouble if they inquire about it—it falls under a long list of illegal interview questions they’re not allowed to ask.

Plus, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 states that employers with 15 or more employees cannot make job decisions based on pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. In New York City, to give a specific example, the act applies protections to places of business with four or more employees. So, as long as the individual can still perform the main functions of their job (and as long as their pregnancy would not harm the place of business), a workplace cannot fire them—or, in most states, can’t refuse to hire them—and would even have to provide accommodations like an area to pump breast milk. (Meanwhile, in states like Virginia, legal options are more vague and workers usually have to rely on human rights laws to protect them.)

If something goes wrong and a company suddenly rescinds an offer of employment from an individual, and that person has reason to believe it’s because of their pregnancy, they can file a charge of discrimination with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Assessing the details

Understanding the nuts and bolts of how a company operates will help pregnant job seekers figure out if it is the right workplace for them to join. Assessing every detail when it comes to aspects like company culture and benefits packages is crucial.

Factors a pregnant job seeker or interviewee should review include:

• What medical benefits are covered
• When healthcare coverage begins (there might be a probationary period)
• What the maternity leave policy is
• If the company offers short-term disability and, if so, what the requirements are.

It’s better to be certain than to take a job and then realize there is an issue with benefits; for instance, sometimes, organizations only give paid maternity leave to staff members who have worked there for an extended period of time. As Berger puts it: “research, research, research” is key, and not just basic googling. “Talk to people at the company that you might know and try to get a feeling of what the culture there is like,” Berger suggests, referring to the use of informational interviews. “Try to inquire about what maternity leave has been like for employees in the past.”

The aforementioned advertising official Susan suggests inquiring about maternity leave details sooner rather than later. “In my experience, I put off asking about it until I was offered the position and given the benefits package details to review,” she says. “I wish I had simply asked about it earlier because, throughout the interview process, I was unsure of what the policy was and felt stressed that it might not be good. Later, I learned that a hiring manager can’t discriminate against an interviewee if they are pregnant, so I should’ve felt comfortable to say ‘What’s your maternity leave policy?’ from the get-go.”

What’s more, a pregnant individual considering a new work environment might also want to make sure the role they are applying for doesn’t entail any functions they won’t physically be able to perform.

Managing stress

Managing stress during pregnancy is crucial, especially if the stress of a job hunt is tacked on. Searching for new employment while also coping with the hardships of pregnancy can take a toll both mentally and physically. Experts say it is important to manage emotions well during this time and avoid potential burnout. Susan repeats that being transparent and asking questions about maternity leave benefits from the onset of the interviewing/hiring process, to rule out any workplaces that don’t sound good to them and thus avoid unnecessary anxiety.

“When you’re pregnant, you really do have to manage your stress as much as possible,” Berger adds. “So, I think you have to review where you are at in your career as you approach the job search as a pregnant person, and check in on why you’re looking for work right now—is it a proactive thing or a reactive thing? You want to be very aware of how much stress you’re carrying, and whether now is the time for a potential career change, and how a job switch might affect your stress levels. But of course, if you need a job, you need a job. You just have to evaluate everything.”

Photo: Welcome to the Jungle

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