12 Tips for Maintaining Your Professional Status and Growing Your Career After Having Kids 

For many women just building a career can be a huge hurdle and a great milestone. All too often women find themselves phased out or progressing less quickly at work after having a child.

Based on my own experience having two kids in a demanding corporate environment, there are steps that women can take to protect their standing at the office while having a work-life balance after baby.

Announce your pregnancy with a plan in place. Rather than just announcing a pregnancy, it is important to have a maternity-leave plan that outlines proposed coverage during your impending absence. Providing a clear timeline to your pregnancy, a summary of your current projects and status around the baby’s due date, and coverage during your absence can all make your boss feel at ease while reinforcing what a valuable player you are to the company.

Update your out-of-office email in advance. Prepare your out-of-office email and, if possible, add a start date for that message to begin. If not possible, this is something that can quickly be done after your leave begins. You don’t want a continuous flow of emails coming to you and the senders to not know that you are on maternity leave.

Assign a point person. It is also important to know that by law your employer is not allowed to contact you during maternity leave. Therefore, it can be a good idea to have a point person like an assistant who has access to all of your files and/or pertinent information while you are away. This person should know what projects you are working on and where your files are for each project. This way nothing will get missed during your absence, and your projects will continue smoothly. The point person should also be prepared to have your calls forwarded upon your leave and, if possible, update your voicemail message to let callers know you are on leave. Many women choose to work up until their due date, and absences can be sudden, but you don’t want important calls being left on your voicemail.

Provide a list of contacts. For each project or task that you manage, outline the key contact you work with and his or her extension or phone number. Make sure to note which project or task each person is working on and, if necessary, their hours of availability. This list should be provided to your managers and point person.

For each project or task you are currently working on, have a status sheet. Update it weekly the last several weeks leading up to your due date so that your manager and point person know exactly what’s going on and can take over for you on a moment’s notice.

Sneak in a pre-return office visit. While on maternity leave, a little office visit to introduce the new baby can also help you get a quick update on your projects and to see if things are running smoothly. It also gives you a chance to reinforce that you’re excited to come back to the office and resume your responsibilities.

Return to work prepared. Stick to work subjects when it comes to your boss. If there are accommodations you will need, such as a breast-feeding room, contact HR to discuss prior to your return. This will make your transition back smooth and ensure no one is scrambling upon your arrival.

Discuss your child care arrangements up front. It is good to let your boss know as early as possible what your child care arrangements are, especially if they impact your work schedule. Be clear if you need some flexibility and, if possible, discuss options with HR before your leave. Many companies have flex-time policies for employees. Also, be upfront if you need to block some time each day for motherly tasks or duties such as breastfeeding. Setting a clear expectation early can avoid any confusion or issue down the road.

Have a trusted company resource. You’ll be out of the office for a while, so it can be helpful to have a trusted coworker who can fill you in on key information that you missed and help get you up to speed more quickly upon your return. Try to meet with this person during your first week back. This will help you feel more in tune with what’s going on and can also help you get back in the swing of things more easily. This person can also let you know if there had been any policy changes that may impact how you do your job. Sometimes systems are upgraded, or new software is employed. This employee can apprise you of anything new that you need to know how to use.

Ask for new responsibilities. Don’t shy away from asking for new responsibilities or work projects upon returning to the office. A gung-ho attitude and an enthusiasm to get back into the swing of things will reinforce that you are back and ready to be a strong team player.

Keep track of goals achieved. It can be a good idea to keep track of your goals and achievements in the office. Returning to the office from maternity leave and setting your goals quickly reinforces your commitment to senior management after being gone for a while. Keeping track of goal achievement is helpful at year-end reviews and shows how you are contributing to company success.

Enjoy your office time. Get back to your regular office routine—morning cup of coffee, chat with co-workers. Returning to your old routine will make everything seem somewhat normal again and get excited to be back to the daily grind.