*Trigger Warning – covers sensitive topic*
You know how everyone starts a New Year with resolutions and with lots of hope that the year ahead is going to be better than the last? Well, heading into 2018 I was on cloud nine; my wife was pregnant with our second child. Less than a week later, our lives changed. She had suffered a miscarriage.
I won’t go in to the detail here, but you can read my very raw thoughts in this Twitter thread that I shared a few months after we found out about the ‘missed miscarriage’ that we endured together.
To sum it up, pregnancy and baby loss of any kind is indescribable pain and trauma that stays with you forever.
One thing that has stuck with me was how incredibly supportive Hatch were during those early days and ever since. Not just as a business, but as individual people. There’s no way to make the pain any less, but a supportive work environment was crucial. I can’t thank Jason, James, Matt and Helen enough for what they did and continue to do.
It came as no surprise that once we learned that Miscarriage Association launched the Pregnancy Loss Pledge, Hatch signed up immediately.
The campaign encourages employers to commit to supporting their staff through the awfulness that is miscarriage.
Hatch supports the Miscarriage Association’s Pregnancy Loss Pledge and agrees to:
- Encourage a supportive work environment where people feel able to discuss and disclose pregnancy and/or loss without fear of being disadvantaged or discriminated against
- Understand and implement the rules around pregnancy-related leave, ensuring staff feel able to take the time off they need
- Show empathy and understanding towards people and their partners experiencing pregnancy loss
- Implement a pregnancy loss policy or guidance, or ensure it is included in sickness, bereavement or other workplace policies – being mindful of the needs of partners, too
- Encourage line managers to access in-house or external guidance (such as that available on the MA website) on how to support someone experiencing pregnancy loss
- Support people back to work by being responsive to their needs and showing flexibility wherever possible
As part of it, Hatch has an updated Leave Policy Following Miscarriage which includes two weeks fully paid leave, applying to both parents, including partners of any gender and employees using surrogate mothers, if they go through the distress of a pregnancy loss within the first 24 weeks.
Be sure to find out more about the Pledge, and I’d encourage as many employers as possible to sign up. You can read more about miscarriage in the workplace on the Miscarriage Association website.
