This article contains topics that some readers may find upsetting.
Guest blog: Claire Shaw is a Territory Business Manager for Elanco and a member of the Elanco Women’s Network. Claire’s first daughter was born just after 21 weeks, she died just 30 mins after she was born. A miscarriage and a missed miscarriage followed. She explains why a baby loss policy can be important in the workplace and discusses some considerations for creating your own policy to help those affected by baby loss.
Why have a baby loss policy
After recently experiencing her own loss, a brave colleague at Elanco wanted to make it clear for other affected women and families that they would be supported by their employer during this difficult time. With the company’s support, she and a number of our colleagues worked together to create Elanco’s baby loss policy.
Having been through my own losses in a previous employment, I was able to offer a different perspective from my own experiences. Together, we saw the need to offer specific guidance, as this type of leave is incredibly personal and will impact individuals differently.
Leave arrangements and support are often at a manager’s discretion, and in the main is often more than adequate. However, if a team member is struggling to talk about what they have been through and how it’s affecting them, the thought of returning to work can make a difficult situation even worse. A policy not only offers guidance to managers, it can also provide confidence to employees that their needs are understood.
In short, having a baby loss policy in place demonstrates an employer’s commitment to supporting those who have been directly affected, as well as to those who may be providing support to their colleagues, friends or family members navigating this difficult journey. Whilst no policy can fully ease the emotional and physical impact of baby loss, to know that your employer provides support and resources will help individuals and their loved-ones navigate this challenging time.
“A policy not only offers guidance to managers, it can also provide confidence to employees that their needs are understood.”
An affected group of Elanco colleagues came together with the HR team to create the policy, each bringing their own unique perspective and opinion on what to include as well as how to word the policy sensitively and how to communicate its launch effectively. After several drafts and numerous discussions, we have a live policy, albeit a document that is still a ‘work in progress’ as we continue to encourage feedback from those who have needed such support.
We would like to share with you some considerations for creating your own policy to help those affected by baby loss.
What should your baby loss policy include?
- A top line warning to advise that the policy document contains topics that some readers may find difficult or upsetting.
- An introduction to the purpose of the policy and why it’s important to have it in place. Include an acknowledgement of loss for the reader, on the physical, psychological and emotional effects of baby loss, and lay out the commitment to support those affected.
- Outline who the policy is for – parents, surrogate parents, even grandparents.
- Make it clear the amount of paid leave the policy allows. It’s difficult to know how much time is appropriate. There can be a risk of the individual feeling an expectation to ‘get back to normal’ when further support may be needed both emotionally and physically. At Elanco we chose 2 weeks of paid leave, followed by our normal sickness policy should an employee feel they are unable to return to work after that. Any sick leave related to pregnancy loss is noted as pregnancy related, separate from other sickness absence.
- Provide useful advice for managers and colleagues so employees feel supported when returning to work. Outline the reasonable adjustments that can be made depending on the employee’s circumstances, which could include a phased return to work, adjustments to working patterns, providing more breaks and other considerations.
- Include information on further resources such as The Miscarriage Association, SANDS, Tommy’s, Petals and The Vet MINDS group, to name just a few.
Delivering the policy should be done with as much sensitivity and thought as possible as there are likely to be other team members who find the subject upsetting.
It is also worth considering, away from a policy, the practical support colleagues can offer those in the grip of baby loss. For example, you may wish to suggest one person sensitively passes on the sad news to colleagues to avoid the need to have multiple conversations. Further advice on this can be found in this article by Nat Scroggie. https://www.veterinarywoman.co.uk/2020/10/baby-loss-and-infertility-in-the-veterinary-profession/
Knowing that we have these policies in place, brought about by our own employees, creates a sense of pride in working for Elanco. Sharing our experience with the wider veterinary community demonstrates our commitment in providing further support to help tackle the isolation surrounding baby loss in the workplace.
The EWN (Elanco Womens Network) is a global community that engages women to promote personal and professional development through meaningful content. Seeking to empower women to be honest about the areas of needed development and then provide those resources in order to see goals achieved, the EWN use speakers, training content, and leadership storytelling to focus on development resources for men and women to assist in achieving their goals.
The EWN launched its UK and Ireland chapter in 2023 to focus on local challenges, and this year has successfully implemented the first menopause policy within Elanco Animal Health, as well as the baby loss policy.
For exclusive access to more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
You may also like:
Baby Loss and Infertility in the Veterinary Profession
Veterinary Woman supports Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week
Effecting Culture Change in Veterinary Practice: Where to Start?