When Natalie Groot, an associate at the Mintz law firm, suffered a miscarriage, she decided to use her tragedy to help other employees dealing with loss.
Groot pushed for more specialized paid time off policies that would cover miscarriage and other types of bereavement, spotlighting failures in her employer’s existing policies that had gone overlooked.
“When she brought this idea forward, we immediately realized that we had a gap in our policies we needed to address,” says Heather Kelly, chief talent officer for Mintz.
By mid-January, the firm had expanded its leave policy to include time off for losses including miscarriage, failed surrogacy, failed adoptions, or failed fertility treatments. The policy offers up to 15 consecutive days of fully paid leave following a miscarriage, and up to five days of fully paid leave per year after a failed surrogacy, adoption, or fertility treatment.
Groot is far from alone in dealing with the trauma of pregnancy loss: around 10% to 15% of pregnancies in women who know they are carrying end in a miscarriage, according to research from the March of Dimes. However, it is possible that as many as half of all pregnancies end in miscarriage since miscarriages can happen before a woman knows she is pregnant, according to the March of Dimes.
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