Tensions Between Employment and Pregnancy: A Workable Balance

This article proposes a theoretical framework for analyzing the balance between employment and pregnancy by examining the interaction of three types of concerns: the employment concerns of the woman, the health concerns of the woman and her child, and the woman's economic concerns. Existing empirical studies are used to show the relevance of such a framework to analyze the tensions between employment and pregnancy. Finally, policy implications with respect to the balance between employment and pregnancy are discussed. The participation rate of women in the U.S. labor force has increased dramatically in recent years, from 40.3% in 1966 to 59.8% in 1998 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1999). As a result, the number of dual-earner households has also risen significantly, currently representing about 50% (Galinsky, Bond, & Friedman, 1993) of all workers in the United States. These changes in the composition of the U.S. labor force have created an increasing tension for workers as they try to balance the demands of their work and their families (Crouter & Manke, 1994; Duxbury, Higgins, & Lee, 1994; Galinsky & Stein, 1990; Lobel, Googins, & Bankert, 1999). A recent study (Society for Human Resource Management, 1997) showed that 77% of surveyed companies considered the balance between work and family as a very important or somewhat important issue. According to the same study, 61% of these companies think that work and family issues will become even more important over the next 5 years. The central question addressed in this article is how women reconcile their procreative role with the demands of their employment. The main objective is to propose a theoretical framework for analyzing the balance between employment and pregnancy from the perspective of working women. It is structured as follows: Section I proposes a theoretical framework for understanding the balance between employment and pregnancy, section II examines the appropriateness of the framework to see if it can be used to analyze existing empirical studies, and section III discusses policy implications of this balance between employment and pregnancy. The Framework Description The norm for most women in the United States (U.S. Department of Labor, 1998; Waldfogel, 1998) is to take at least some time off from work after the birth of a child and then to return to work after an absence of less than a year. Before deciding whether to take a maternity leave and the length of such leave, however, women face a number of difficult questions. Will their job still be available after they take a leave? Will the leave be paid? How long can they afford to stay home if the leave is unpaid? What does a woman do if she believes that returning to work creates an increased health risk for herself or her newborn? Of course, a substantial number of women choose not to attempt to balance employment with care for their child and opt to remain home as full-time caregivers. Here we focus on women who want to take a relatively short leave and then return to work outside the home. The questions posed above can be resolved by examining how a woman balances three sets of factors that will impact her decision: employment concerns, concerns over her own health and that of her child, and economic concerns. A woman's employment concerns takes into account whether taking pregnancy leave will result in her being discriminated against when she returns to work, whether she is able to retain her job if she takes a leave (her job security), and whether taking a leave will negatively impact her chances for career advancement (Kahnwiler & Kahnwiler, 1992). The second component of the framework is the health concerns of the woman and her child. This would include the health and safety of the woman if she continues to work during her pregnancy and postnatal period, as well as the health and safety of her newborn child. Taking a maternity leave (and the length of such leave) will clearly depend on whether the woman believes that doing so will compromise her own health, that of her child, or both. …