Lauren Smith Brody went back to work after her first baby, and thought she could “organize herself” through her maternity leave and her return back to work after baby. While working in the magazine industry in NYC, Lauren was thankful for a healthy delivery and baby but felt like her emotions about work were “off.”

In this episode, we talk about the issues around a working mom’s return to work, including:

  • privilege and access to FMLA (only 56% of American workers have access to taking 12 unpaid weeks)
  • 25% of American moms take two weeks or less of maternity leave
  • how partners can help moms who are on maternity leave
  • helping your kids understand your job and why it’s good to bring your work home
  • where we’re making the most progress for working moms
  • where we have the most work to do for working moms
  • and a lot more!

Prior to launching The Fifth Trimester, Lauren had a 16-year career in magazine publishing, most recently as the longtime executive editor of Glamour magazine at Condé Nast, where she produced the Women of the Year awards, honoring luminaries like Dr. Maya Angelou and Hillary Clinton. As both an executive-level manager and a content expert, she led colleagues and 12 million monthly readers through career and life transitions with empathy and vital information. Raised in Ohio, Texas, and Georgia, she now lives in New York City with her husband and two young sons. (from www.thefifthtrimester.com)

You can follow Lauren online at @thefifthtrimester on Instagram.

For more episodes and inspiring stories of moms making a difference, visit www.influentialmotherhood.com.

Melissa Duncan is a wife to her high school sweetheart, a boy mom, and a lawyer. A natural cheerleader, she loves encouraging moms to pursue their dreams. Melissa hosts a podcast, Influential Motherhood, celebrating moms who are making a difference in their profession or community. An Enneagram 7 who is always full of big ideas, Melissa can't remember jokes, leaves the cooking to her husband, and survives on coffee, Nutella, many prayers, and little sleep.