[This article is a recap of the 1st episode of our Podcast about the lives of Doctolibers, called In good company. Listen to the full episode here!]

If I asked you « How did you feel about coming back from maternity / paternity leave?», what would you say ? For most people I’ve talked to, it was very tough. And definitely not an easy experience. Because it’s such a pivotal moment, I’d like to talk about my two parental leave experiences at Doctolib, what worked for me – and hopefully, what will work for you as well.

The challenges new parents face

For each parental leave, different challenges arose for me. For the first time, it was all about finding a new routine and accommodating my daily life to it. Everything was new and there were a lot of emotions when having to go back to work! For the second time, it was much more about “scaling” and making sure the new organization worked. There was a sense of familiarity and at the same time, it was still a completely new experience.

Each parent has their own story. And each story brings a specific set of challenges and new emotions. But one key aspect of parental leave that is universal is to have the proper time to take care of yourself. That was also the case for me. I needed to have enough time to transition to my new role as parent and make sure I was recovering well.

The 3 things that made all the difference for me

1- Having amazing managers and teams who’ve been extremely caring & supportive from the day I announced my pregnancy, until my comeback. This feeling of support is essential in a period where you can feel vulnerable and going through the motions.

2- Taking some extra time off before coming back. This can sound like a luxury, but it makes such a huge difference ! At Doctolib, we have 1 additional month of maternity leave, and needless to say how precious it’s been for me. And obviously, also having my dear husband taking a 2-month paternity leave definitely helped too!

3- Having role models. Before leaving for my 2nd maternity leave, I was scared not to be able to have a good work life balance, with 2 kids on the one hand and a very exciting job on the other hand. Spoiler alert, I’ve struggled a lot with the workload when coming back from maternity leave. But what kept me positive about my ability to overcome the initial struggle was to look at my role models. I could talk with them about how to manage parenthood and work efficiently: my mum, my product colleagues who are Product Leaders and have kids.

To know more about my story; have a listen to our podcast here: Parenthood – In good company | Podcast on Spotify

To discover the parental program at Doctolib, go here:La vie chez Doctolib – Careers at Doctolib – France