You’re pregnant and light duty sucks.

Aug 12

Well, it’s happened…you’ve gotten that positive pregnancy test. You’ve most likely gone through every emotion possible to humans in a 2-minute span – shock, excitement, nervousness but also dread.

Dread at the thought of

“How is this going to change my career, especially if I’ve worked my ass off and made it into a specialty position?! How are my colleagues and supervisors going to react...I don’t want to be seen as fragile and feel like I’m letting my co-workers down”.

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Now, I’ve seen departments improve at how they handle light duty and welcome pregnancies within their department, however, there are still a shit ton of agencies who are icing out competent women for wanting to start a family.

So, how do you handle the changes when your co-workers aren’t taking it well?

I mean, I hate this answer but, redirect your attention to what is in your control versus what is outside of it. Very rarely will you change the opinions of someone who simply wants to be ignorant, rude or mad.

Here are 6 ways you can manage pregnancy as an officer:

1. Self-acceptance - Whether this baby was planned or unplanned you’ve chosen to keep it and now there are inevitable physical changes that come with it that will eventually require you to do things differently and it’s ok that it sucks.

2. Think about the long-term goal of being a parent and keep your eyes on the prize so to speak, it can help filter out the negative comments you may get.

3. Make sure you have a solid support system around you and if you don’t, seek them out. LE competent therapists are good resources to have as you navigate the changes also, family or friends if those are options! Don’t forget to seek out other female officers in your department and at different departments to help you get a broader perspective of how they’ve navigated the challenges.

4. Create a reward system! Make a countdown calendar for a short or semi-long time (ex: 15 days or 30 days) and at the end of every completed work stretch, get yourself something enjoyable. It’s kind of like a self-care advent calendar to get you through hard seasons that you know have an end date. Remember, you won’t be pregnant forever – even if it feels that way.

5. Develop a new piece of your identity that doesn’t have to do with being a cop - like a new hobby! I recommend this for every cop really, not just for pregnancy.

6. Be kind to yourself, pregnancy is truly taxing and wonderful and difficult and amazing and there is no playbook for the “right way”. You are absolutely crushing things, be proud of yourself!

3 Ways Departments Can Support Their Pregnant Officers:

1. Admin: Cut off any negative comments you hear – zero tolerance vibes here. Morale starts at the top and so does acceptance. It is vital that you don’t view women as a burden to the department just because they are carrying a child. Pregnancies, illnesses and injuries may mess with the schedule, but these are the human beings you chose to employ, and their unborn child deserves compassion and respect from you and their colleagues.

2. If you don’t have a light duty program, this is a perfect time to create one for pregnant officers. Consider investigative work or enlist qualified ones to streamline existing processes so that they stay connected and productive to the mission, even if they aren’t on the road.

3. Check-in with them with a simple conversation. Most women cops have worked hard to earn the respect of their male colleagues and suddenly being looked at and treated differently is incredibly difficult for their mental and physical health. For example, upon notification, ask them how they’d like for their pregnancy and work duties to be discussed as they get closer to delivery. According to our female police survey, “just come up and talk to me” is the most often cited way that women police prefer to have taboo topics approached.

For the co-workers of pregnant women, if you get frustrated with how maternity leave is approached at your agency, remember that advocating for your unborn child is no different than advocating for an unborn one – do what is best for you. And big picture, there is no future workforce without babies, so thank you for your service!

**Written by Erica Gaines**

Erica is the CEO/Founder of TacMobility. She is a subject matter expert in law enforcement trauma and stress exposure and is the author of the world’s largest on-going data research survey of Law Enforcement officers and stress. Erica is certified in trauma yoga therapy.

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