Sarah Peck was the first employee to get pregnant at the Silicon Valley startup she worked for. And while her boss affirmed things would work out, she could feel unconscious competition and misogyny in the air. Inside she was feeling lonely and wondering if she was sacrificing the career she had built. In addition to her other duties, she was tasked with helping to write the ‘maternity employee handbook’ for the entire organization.
Since that time, Sarah has left that position to become an entrepreneur and to follow her passion for writing. She founded Startup Pregnant, a soulful space for women wanting to be intentional
about the intersection of career and motherhood, based on her own experience of unpacking what it meant to be a woman in a corporate startup venture blended with her many years of blogging experience.
During our conversation, we delve into the seldom discussed topics of how the modern world changes the way women prepare for pregnancy, how keeping up with the Joneses can add stressors to what should be a transformative experience and the myth of finding a work-life balance.
Sarah articulates beautifully the struggle so many of us feel — how can we pursue meaningful work that matters while also desiring to create a family landscape that is nurturing and healthy?
In This Episode:
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Having a baby in the male-dominated startup world
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The benefits of having a pregnant woman on the team
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The emotionally complex situation entrepreneurs face while expecting
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How pregnancy launched her new career
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How she created a company’s policies on pregnancy and maternity leave
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How she took a softer approach to parenting in the commercialized ‘baby market’
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Cost-justifying a Doula
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How her partner negotiated extended time off to spend with family
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How the inexpensive gift of letters from family and friends can help guide parents through their first year
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How to building body confidence during pregnancy
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The effects of the modern lifestyle on the birthing experience
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How she prepared for birth physically, mentally, and spiritually
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Visualizing the tender care you want from others during postpartum
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How women can be more specific about what they want
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How to build your maternity wardrobe with style and ease online
Show Notes:
Startup Pregnant
Startup Pregnant Podcast
@StartupPregnant on Twitter
Sarah Peck Official Website
Stitch Fix — Create a Style Profile and Have Clothes Delivered Right to Your Front Door
About Our Guest:
SARAH K PECK is a writer, startup advisor, and yoga teacher based in New York City. She’s the founder and executive director of Startup Pregnant, a media company documenting the stories of women’s leadership across work and family. She hosts the weekly Startup Pregnant podcast, and she and her partner in life and work are the instigators behind More Women’s Voices, a website that promotes women speakers and entrepreneurs. Previously, she worked at Y Combinator backed One Month, Inc, a company that teaches people to code in 30 days, and prior, as a writing and communications consultant.
She’s a 20-time All-American swimmer who successfully swam the Escape from Alcatraz nine separate times, once wearing only a swim cap and goggles to raise $33k for charity: water. To date, she’s written for more than 75 different web publications and and has delivered speeches and workshops at Penn, UVA, Berkeley, Harvard, Year of the X, Craft & Commerce, WDS, and more. One recent viral essay, The Art of Asking, has been used across tech companies and product teams to train teams in clear communications. She’s currently writing a memoir of her experience working in the tech startup world while she was pregnant with her first kid.
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