On this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, I speak with author and 5th Trimester Movement founder, Lauren Smith Brody. Lauren and I have a lively conversations about the challenges and struggles many mothers face when heading back to work after the birth of their baby. Enjoy some incredibly useful tips on how to make this transition a little easier.
In this episode:
- What brought Lauren to writing this book and her own 5th trimester experience .
- What defines the 5th trimester.
- A look at the US maternity leave compared to other countries and the effects on the mother’s postpartum health and baby.
- Determining factors a parent should consider when choosing childcare.
- Suggestion to help one set themselves up for success a few weeks before going back to work.
- Once back at work, suggestions for settling in the first few days.
- Learning to reprioritizing ones beauty routine and, dressing for the fifth trimester.
- The correlation between amount of maternity – and paid maternity leave in relationship to postpartum well being.
- Knowing when to ask for help.
- Hints and tips for surviving sleep deprivation?
- Pumping at work- how to do it and why it doesn’t have to suck.
- What advice can you offer for pumping at work and in preparation for going back to work?
- Advice for the mom who works for herself about balancing work and family.
- Finding “me time” and why it is important.
- A few of Lauren’s “18 life changing conversations .”
- What Lauren and The 5th Trimester Movement are up to now!
About Lauren Smith Brody:
Lauren Smith Brody is the author of The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, and Big Success After Baby (Doubleday) and the founder of The Fifth Trimester movement, which helps parents and businesses collaborate to create a more family-friendly workplace culture. The Fifth Trimester has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN.com, Fast Company, and dozens more outlets, and Lauren has been a featured speaker at companies and organizations including Facebook, The New York Times, and Turner. A longtime leader in the women’s magazine industry, Lauren was most recently the executive editor of Glamour magazine, where she ran the editorial staff and produced the magazine’s annual Women of the Year awards, honoring luminaries like Dr. Maya Angelou and Hillary Clinton. Raised in Ohio, Texas, and Georgia, she now lives in New York City with her husband and two young sons.
