'Not a holiday': Mum's LinkedIn post about maternity leave goes viral
By Nikolina Koevska Kharoufeh |
The idea of maternity leave may sound like a holiday, though most mums and dads would know that the reality is quite the opposite. It consists of long, exhausting days trying to feed, settle and take care of a baby who does not want to do any of those things.
A first-time mum who knows this all too well has taken to LinkedIn to make a point of just how hard it is to be on maternity leave calling it, "a full-time job".
Human Resources Business Partner and new mum Eleonora Valenti from Malaysia posted a candid summary of her thoughts on maternity leave online telling fellow coworkers and professionals that may not understand yet that, "Being a parent is a job."
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"Now you know why I have been pretty absent from LinkedIn in the past months," she wrote in the post.
Eleonora welcomed her son into the world in October 2021, which is when she began her maternity leave. She revealed she fully focused on her newborn and lived day-by day for those first three months as she admitted that she didn't know what to expect before she became a mum.
Beginning her post with, "Maternity leave is not a holiday" the mum said that more people need to credit stay-at-home mums and dads for the work that they do raising a child.
"My experience is that it is a full-time job. Actually more, considering that is 24/7. Day shifts and night shifts, one after the other," she noted.
Eleonora also admitted that prior to giving birth she was actually looking forward to her maternity leave, being under the naive impression it would give her time to "read more books".
But she quickly realised it isn't 'leave' but rather just a change in job - one that most aren't qualified for yet.
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"It couldn't be more distant from the truth", she wrote.
"Being a parent is a job. It is a beautiful one but let's admit it, it is also a demanding one", the mum shared online asking others to also comment on what their experience was like with parental leave.
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Most couldn't agree more with the new mum.
One woman took to the post to thank her for being so open and honest about the experience, "I wish everyone in the world would really understand this. And in my utopia moms would be paid CEO salaries for choosing to stay at home and raise children."
Another said, "It's like being the founder and CEO of a new startup."
"Congratulations," began another. "I write this on the couch next to our two-year-old who can't go to nursery due to a fever, which also kept us up most of the nightกญ I never envisaged the personal strength needed to raise a child and have a full-time job."
Since it was published the post has gathered the attention of thousands of people around the world who can fully relate to just how hard the task of raising a baby is.
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