Why Strategic Preparation Matters More for Working Mothers Than Birth Plans 

When you interview for a job, do you get the sense you’d truly be supported during family planning? During meetings at work, does anyone consider the emotional toll you’re experiencing while you’re executing that project plan? What happens when you return to work and face microaggressions about your “change” or how do you manage the pumping breaks?

As ambitious women, we work incredibly hard to break through barriers designed to hold us back—imposter syndrome, gender bias, work-life pressure. And we succeed. We excel. We earn well. We lead teams. We have no problems building our professional identity strategically.

But then we announce that we’re pregnant or become mothers, and suddenly we feel lost.

The Research Confirms What We Already Know

What research confirms is that most working mothers experience continuous guilt and identity struggles that persist long after returning to work.

We spend years preparing for job interviews, presentations, leadership roles. But when it comes to one of the biggest transitions of our lives, becoming a working mother, we’re just supposed to figure it out as we go.

This isn’t about learning to change diapers or picking the right stroller. And it’s beyond typical health or employee benefits. This is about maintaining your sense of self, your professional confidence, and your vision for the kind of mother and leader you want to be.

I had three children over a 20+ year pharmaceutical career and learned the hard way that strategic preparation makes all the difference. With my first daughter, I had no plan and gave up breastfeeding after just weeks. With my second, I had to quit my job while on parental leave to move half way across the world when she was just 3 months old – no family or friends to provide support. 

But by my third daughter, I realized the problem – nobody prepared me for this transition the way they prepared me for everything else in your career. I ended up having an empowering, unplanned, unmedicated, natural home birth with her and went back to work at 8 weeks, breastfeeding for three years while traveling 80% of the time in a global role. Each time I felt like I was starting all over again.

There was a moment when I realized I couldn’t keep pretending I was okay. Balancing my successful career, being a mother, a wife… but still losing myself in the process. I left a six-figure job not because I couldn’t do it, but because I was done living a life that didn’t make space for women like me. Women like you.

Because you don’t have to choose. But you do have to prepare differently.

What Strategic Preparation Actually Looks Like

That’s why I created The S.M.A.R.T. Journey to Parenting™ . It’s not your generic birth education that teaches you about contractions. Yes, there’s that too because it incorporates evidence-based care. But it’s focused on strategic preparation for the entire transition from pregnancy to parenting. 

It includes:

• Setting your vision for who you want to be as a working mom, 
• Mindfully preparing for the emotional shifts, 
• Advancing your understanding of what this change really means for your body, 
• Rising with strength through physical movement exercises, and 
• Thriving together through postpartum in a way that meets both your personal AND professional goals.

Because I know what it’s like to worry that pregnancy makes you seem less committed to your work, or that asking for flexibility makes you seem less capable. I know what it’s like to sit in Zoom meetings while pumping.

Your Power Expands, It Doesn’t Diminish

And I also know what it’s like on the other side – when you’ve prepared strategically, when you trust yourself, when you realize that becoming a mother doesn’t diminish your power, it expands it.

And look, balancing career and motherhood won’t always be easy. Heck, I’m still figuring it out!

But I can promise you this, it doesn’t have to cost you your identity or your dreams.

Your pregnancy and early parenthood can be a time of becoming more of who you’re meant to be, not less. You don’t have to choose between being a good parent and a successful professional.

Moving Forward with Strategic Intention

If you’re planning for pregnancy, currently expecting, or navigating early motherhood, remember that strategic preparation isn’t about controlling every outcome. It’s about approaching this transition with the same intentionality and thoughtfulness you bring to your professional life.

You’ve already proven you can break through barriers and succeed. Now it’s time to prove that becoming a mother amplifies your professional power. Because the world needs more mothers who know their power, not fewer leaders who happen to have children.

Michelle H. El Khoury, PhD

Perinatal Well-Being Expert & Founder of Yogamazia

Ready to prepare strategically for your journey? At Yogamazia, we specialize in helping women navigate pregnancy and early parenthood with confidence. Explore our perinatal services or download our free video series: Prepared Pregnancy: Calming 5 Common Fears for a Confident Birth, to start your journey from overwhelmed to empowered today.