怀孕与你的工作(中/英)

　　
　　变化总是不可避免地伴随着怀孕带给你的惊喜一同到来，有时这种变化是很艰苦的。从怀孕第三个月开始，你就会觉得肚子里的孩子已经开始影响你的精神状况，你饮食起居的习惯，你的腰围，有时候还有你的工作表现。你的身体和你的思想在为即将到来的婴儿做准备，而这些需要可能会影响你准备明天早上的一次重要会议。
　　那么应如何处理生理上的变化和工作需求呢？让几位有着成功经验的职业女性来教你如何在怀孕期间兼顾婴儿的健康和自己的工作吧。
　　制定一份计划
“我认为让自己了解尽可能多有关怀孕的事情是非常重要的，因为这样你才能够制定一份现实的计划，而不是根据自己的美好想象行事。”Nancy Peske说道。她是《养育一个聪明可爱的孩子：儿童感觉统合问题权威手册》，也是5岁的Dante的妈妈。“跟你的医生谈谈，阅读相关书籍，了解自己怀孕期间身体会感到哪些不适，然后老老实实得问自己几个问题。你能够忍受一早起来就觉得恶心想吐，还有缺少睡眠的折磨，仍然坚持全力投入工作么？然后根据你的答案制定一份计划。不用担心，你可以根据自己的情况随时调整自己的这份计划。
　　考虑你的选择
　　在生活方式上你必须要为孩子的到来作长期的打算。问问自己：孩子出生后，你是否愿意花更多的时间呆在家里照顾孩子？如果你12个月没有收入，你是否会在经济上出现困难？你会考虑弹性工作制，工作共享，压缩工作时间或者远程办公吗？还是想尽早地回到办公室进行全职工作呢？
　　很多女性说设法在家工作，至少一个星期能有几天在家工作，可以让怀孕、照顾孩子和工作更容易协调。
“如果你的工作像我所从事的工作一样，我的确相信你能够兼顾到所有的事情。”Angela Donalson说，她是圣路易斯国防部的调查员，同时是两个孩子的母亲。“我的工作一直非常顺利。后来我有了两个孩子，但是我没有遇到什么麻烦。当然，我很幸运，我两次怀孕都没有引起什么太大的健康问题。”
“而我的老板也对我也没有什么疑问，因为我总是能够在规定的时间内完成自己的工作。”她接着说。“根据新的家庭法，我可以带薪休12个星期的产假。如果孩子生病了，我可以请假带孩子看医生。我的工作时间很有弹性。现在孩子逐渐长大了，我可以早晨在家把他们送上公共汽车，晚上在孩子回来之前回到家里。”
　　自由工作者的生活方式可能是个更好的选择。“怀孕的前三个月我可以下午打打盹儿，或者去看医生，”Peske说。“我怀孕了，大家对我很好。在我预产期的大约前一个星期，我要参加一个本来是在离城里一个小时路程的一个地方举行的会议，但是为了我，他们5个参会人员到了曼哈顿来与我会面。在我怀孕的最后三个月我连续4天工作12个小时，按时完成了一份几乎是不可能完成的任务。我的一名客户非常欣赏我的这种敬业精神，她送给我一张票，让我有机会享受专门针对怀孕妇女的专业按摩服务。
　　了解你的权利
　　尽管《怀孕歧视法案》能够防止你因为怀孕而被解雇，但是你仍有可能因为工作表现而被开除。而且有些工作实际上对于你和你的孩子的健康是非常有害的。你也应该读读《家庭医疗休假法》。
　　“在告诉你的老板你怀孕了之前，你要作好准备，”Dana Bilboa说。Dana生活在洛杉矶，她是家庭喜剧《法官艾米》的制片会计，两位孩子的母亲。“我以前的老板不肯跟我续约，因为我离产期很近了，而且会错过影片的一部分制作。这是合法的。但是我也很自然的会感觉怀孕的女人在工作场所是不太方便的。所以知道你拥有那些权利十分重要。”
　　把自己和孩子放在第一位
“我一直工作到预产期的前一周，”Carra Riching-Knox说，她是一位的营养专家和生活教练，在Boulder城经营着自己的生意——寿险管理综合方案。她也是15个月大的Jocob的母亲。“我把照顾自己和孩子放在第一位。我根据我的孩子健康需要安排自己的饮食，保证我的孩子和自己所需要的营养。”

What If There Are No Women Leaders?
For decades, women have been in the mainstream of the American workforce, yet few rise to the most senior ranks in corporations. Just as the wage gap between men and women is narrowing -- according to the Coalition of Labor Union Women, a woman now earns 83.5 cents for every dollar earned by a man -- many women wonder why their mobility in the organization isn't keeping pace with their male counterparts.
What can a woman do when she has no women above her in her organization to aspire to be like, and her field has only a few women at the most senior levels? This common but largely unrecognized reality can be a significant barrier to women's advancement.
Your Board of Directors
"Getting ahead is all about relationships -- knowing the right people in and out of the organization," says Jaye Roseborough, management consultant and director of career services at Middlebury College in Vermont.
Roseborough advises women to establish and cultivate their own "board of directors," who will make it their mission to monitor and guide a woman's career advancement. By putting such a mechanism in place, an ambitious woman will be forced to develop and defend a strategic plan for her career as well as step-by-step goals for actualizing that plan.
Roseborough counsels any woman who cannot look up in order to move up to recruit women, as well as men, who will be brutally honest with her about her talents and shortcomings. These advisors should include trusted and respected individuals from both inside and outside her field. They should be professionals who possess sound judgment about corporate culture and have a record of success in their own careers
"Success stories rarely just happen," warns Roseborough. "They require individuals to be planful and deliberate." She adds that women often fail to appreciate the power of the natural networking men can count on as they play golf or travel together. By putting your own board in place and convening at least twice annually, you seriously promote your own success, seizing opportunities and noting obstacles early to correct your course.
How Can Your Board Help?
The board's meeting agenda should include:
•Evaluating your career plan and making needed revisions.
•Setting measurable goals centered around core areas of organizational priority and growth.
•Identifying projects to boost visibility, such as volunteering for committees or task forces that address emerging issues in the company.
•Confronting barriers, addressing mistakes and calculating risks to promote advancement.
In general, a woman's board of directors can help her identify ways to effectively communicate her career goals to male managers and leaders. Women often make the mistake of assuming hard work and accomplishments will signal their interest in advancement. Rather, Roseborough advises women to proactively make their ambitions known, while also confronting assumptions older, more senior males might hold about their ability and availability to advance specifically because they are women.
Some corporations, especially those without women at the top, still hold unexamined assumptions about women's willingness and ability to hold senior posts. Chief among these is women's lack of willingness to relocate or bear a heavy travel schedule. Women who volunteer for these projects, often a prerequisite to promotion, demonstrate their interest in advancement.
Finally, a board can also help a woman see when it's time to move on in order to move up. They can recognize the difference between being in a career lull and a dead end as well as offer objective perspectives to help women identify the necessary next steps and new strategies to achieve their goals.
　　编辑：高文轲