It put a smile on my face when I read that Victoria Beckham had told Glamour magazine that she does not intend to take maternity leave any time soon – and she’s eight months pregnant!
And mumpreneurs and business mums worldwide must have had a mix of feelings when they read it, too, right?
She told Glamour magazine: “Maternity leave – what’s that? I’ve been working incredibly hard so I can prepare for the next season.”
“Being a working mum is hard – I think women can relate to me when I say it’s like juggling glass balls.”
She said: “My husband and children will always be my priority. But for me, what I do professionally doesn’t feel like a job – it’s my passion.”
For those who understand where Victoria Beckham is coming from, the feeling will have resonated with her sentiments. But for those who don’t understand, they’ll think her hormones have got the better of her.
But there actually isn’t anything too unusual about it, many women do not want to rush off to maternity leave sooner than they have to. Apart from Victoria Beckham being a celebrity, her situation is similar to a lot of working mums.
For the everyday mum, the main reason why maternity leave is left to the very last minute is because:
1. Money – if you start your maternity leave early and have to go back to work, you’ll have to cut it short early, too, so you can make ends meet.
2. Responsibility – we imagine that Victoria has quite a large team working with and for her on her many entrepreneurial projects. So do a lot of business mums, but not everyone has the luxury and this can mean working right to the delivery room. I know one mum who had her BlackBerry tucked under her pillow in the delivery suite after giving birth…no names mentioned!
3. Boredom – slowing down is one thing, but coming to a complete shock when you are waiting for your new baby’s arrival can lead to absolute boredom… even if you have other children! And not every mum-to-be will have a date when their baby will arrive (Victoria is having a caesarean) – if it’s your first baby, for example, you just don’t really know when your baby will arrive, as it can be two weeks either side of your due date.
4. Trust – can you trust anyone to look after your business so you can take early maternity leave? Can you trust anyone to look after your livelihood while you take enough time off at all? When you start your own business, it is often like a baby itself so, naturally, you are protective about it…but is tha being controlling under then guise of passionate?
5. Passion – despite swollen ankles, backache, indigestion and heartburn, some of us mothers who work actually enjoy the what we do and have no intention of stopping to count the days, hours, nuts, seconds, milliseconds…before the baby arrives.
If you are nodding profusely to the above, keep your eyes peeled for a feature tomorrow that will help you go on maternity leave, or take time off when you need to without panicking about the state your business will be in when you return!
