Parental support matters: why employers need to up their game 

Employees need to do more to support new parents than sending an email or a bunch of congratulatory flowers, warns Mridula Pore, co-CEO and co-founder of digital health platform Peppy.

The UK is recognised as one of the more generous countries for parental leave – the time generally available to employees just before, during and immediately after childbirth – with birth parents allowed to take up to 52 weeks.

From April this year, statutory maternity pay in the UK will increase by 10 per cent although it is estimated that nearly two-thirds of UK businesses already provide maternity pay that is above the statutory minimum.

But there’s more to supporting new and expectant parents than simply addressing pay and offering time off. 

Bringing a baby into the world is a momentous and life-changing milestone that brings not only joy and wonder but a plethora of challenges that can impact hugely on someone’s health and wellbeing. 

We all know that parents are notoriously sleep deprived but mix this in with concerns over postpartum recovery, feeding issues, changing identity and relationships, financial pressures and how to juggle work, home and baby and it’s easy to recognise why so many parents feel the strain.

As many as a fifth of new and expectant mothers are likely to experience some form of mental health problem, including depression, anxiety, panic and agoraphobia. Studies show that one in 10 fathers struggle with postpartum depression and anxiety as well.

A third of fathers/non-birthing partners have reported seeing their relationship suffer, while one in three partners say they were left feeling financially unstable following a baby’s arrival.

Not all births are plain sailing either. The latest maternity statistics, released in November 2022, show that 20 per cent of NHS deliveries are via C-section, with inductions at 33 per cent – which can be a stressful, debilitating and painful start to parenthood.

Families are created in so many ways. For parents in same sex relationships, single parents by choice, parents by surrogacy or adoption, or parents/babies with additional needs – they’re often handling a whole host of additional factors. 

Yet finding support for new parents is not easy with many women struggling to access the help they need.

As the government admitted in its 10-year Women’s Health Strategy for England, all too often women are forced ‘to navigate their way around multiple different health professionals and facilities trying to access basic services to maintain their health and wellbeing’. And the needs of fathers or non-birth parents are rarely given any consideration by the healthcare system.

As many as four in 10 women even leave their jobs after childbirth, with only a third returning to the workforce even after a considerable career break.

A helpful workplace

Employers can play a key role in providing support for new and expectant parents on their journey through this exciting, yet challenging time in their lives. And this support can be a win-win situation for everyone.

Providing support not only highlights a commitment to existing employees but can also help organisations attract and retain top talent and create a culture of inclusiveness across the business.

Research shows that employees who have little support from their workplace or employer are less likely to return after maternity or paternity leave. In comparison, organisations that offer support via employee benefits and seek to maintain some connection are usually highly thought of and more likely to retain new parents as productive members of the workforce.

Parental health support can also help improve engagement, productivity and attract and retain an all-important gender-diverse workforce.

How employers can help

Unfortunately, more than a third of UK professionals feel employers are not doing enough to support new parents. Of those who do get parental support, only 18 per cent of employers offer specific help for infant feeding, for example.

Going beyond just generous pay and leave, the best employer support offers a caring and inclusive environment with help all the way from conception to the birth, during the immediate postpartum phase and beyond. 

This support will combine both practical and emotional elements that are realistic and recognise the wider impact of parenthood.

As every new parent-child journey is individual, it is important that support offers flexibility and can be tailored to meet the needs of each family unit. 

Organisations can bring in guest speakers or experts on breastfeeding, pre and postnatal health, or baby sleeping techniques. Or they can establish support groups and small communities for working parents to show that staff are recognised, respected and supported.

Alternatively, providing support via digital solutions can help new parents access confidential expert support day or night, whenever they need it – a trusted lifeline during what can be a time of great stress and loneliness.

Crucially, any support must be communicated so that employees know what’s available and are encouraged to make use of it.

Employers who provide genuine family-friendly support from fertility through to birth and beyond, and help their staff feel confident and comfortable discussing these issues, will create a caring and inclusive environment – one in which team members are more likely to want to return to after starting their family.

Dr Mridula Pore, is the co-founder and co-CEO of Peppy. After studying chemical engineering at Cambridge, she got her PhD from MIT and an MBA from MIT Sloan.