Advocating While Pregnant and Navigating Upon Your Return to Work with Chelsie Bedingfield from the Sacramento Zoo

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My guest this week is Chelsie Bedingfield, an ungulate keeper at the Sacramento Zoo.  Her and I really dive into what a zookeeper's daily roles and responsibilities are, and then what it is like to be a pregnant zookeeper doing those tasks.  Chelsie talks about how she really had to learn to advocate for herself while pregnant.  It wasn't that she didn't want to do certain tasks; it was that she physically couldn't, and she ultimately didn't want to compromise the health of her baby while working in the hot California summer.  It can be hard to communicate that to your team, especially when they are not in the same season of life and might not understand.

We also talk about pumping at work and Chelsie shares her tricks of the trade - what pump she uses as well as what she uses to store her milk at work!  Coming back to work as a pumping mom often means you have different priorities than when you left.  Now you're responsible for making sure you can make enough milk to feed your baby!  Sometimes this can leave you asking, "Where do I fit in now that I'm back?"   Team dynamics change, animals change, coworkers have had successes in training, and as much as you want to walk back into your work life, you sometimes feel as if your priorities are now different than your coworkers.  

Finally, I'd like to pose the question to listeners: Do working moms thrive better as moms when they get to use work as a way to "fill their cup"?  Chelsie and I talk a bit about this and how the postpartum period can often leave you wanting or needing to return to work for the sake of your mental health.

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