Balancing a demanding tech career while becoming a new mom is no easy feat, but DoorDash’s support every step of the way made it possible for me to navigate this journey and thrive. In addition to a generous maternity leave policy, the company also contracts for birth and postpartum benefits through Carrot, a global fertility care platform. My manager had my back and assured me that I could take the time I needed to prioritize my newborn daughter. Those resources and the support of my team eased my transition into motherhood and gave me the confidence to return to work feeling empowered. My experience highlights the incredible impact of workplace empathy and the value of a company that genuinely cares for its employees.
Becoming a parent while balancing a tech career
When I found out that I was pregnant, one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind was, “How will I balance my career with everything this new journey entails?” As a first-time mom, I was stepping into uncharted territory — managing pregnancy, navigating prenatal appointments, and dealing with the stress inherent to this life-altering change. I was also concerned about how my manager, leadership, and team would perceive me stepping back from projects and pausing my professional initiatives.
At the time, our team already was stretched thin with a growing backlog of projects and not enough engineers to handle them all. While finding out you’re pregnant is a joyous moment, it’s also overwhelming, especially for a first-time mom. Suddenly, I was faced with planning for a completely new phase of life and negotiating with myself about my priorities. For me, that meant shifting focus from work — which had always come first — to my health and my baby.
To prioritize my physical and emotional well-being, prepare for delivery and postpartum, and continue to manage my work responsibilities, I needed to have an honest conversation with myself. First, though, I needed to get informed. I read through DoorDash’s internal wiki to understand our maternity leave policies and joined a supportive Slack channel for parents at the company. These resources gave me the confidence to plan my next steps:
- Schedule prenatal appointments in advance: I booked all of my prenatal appointments and added them to my work calendar, making most of them early in the morning to ensure my team would know about any potential delays.
- Communicate upcoming leave: I planned how and when to discuss my leave with my manager and the team. I’ll provide more detail about how I managed this in the next section.
- Prepare paperwork: To avoid last-minute stress, I organized all the necessary paperwork and got up to speed on how to apply for maternity leave, add my baby to my insurance, and submit claims if needed.
- Prepare for the baby: I created a schedule to get ready for the baby — organizing my house, setting up the nursery, planning meals for the first postpartum weeks, and ensuring I would have support from family and friends as needed.
- Focus on health: I committed to staying healthy through exercise and taking prenatal supplements to support my pregnancy and recovery.
By taking these steps early, I felt more organized and less stressed, allowing me to focus on both my professional and personal responsibilities during this transformative time.
The manager who had my back
Before my pregnancy, I was deeply involved in several key initiatives at DoorDash, including improving our team’s engineering velocity, organizing an engineering excellence framework, and preparing to launch a wider team engineering velocity program. These projects required significant effort, cross-functional collaboration, and sometimes late nights.
When I learned I was pregnant, I realized my priorities had to shift. Over the next nine months, my focus needed to be on staying healthy, managing stress, and preparing for my baby.
I decided to share the news with my manager early. Although I was nervous about how it might impact the team, I believed it was important for my manager to understand my situation so that he could support me as needed. To my relief, he was incredibly understanding, assuring me that my health and my baby’s well-being were top priorities.
This understanding helped me to focus on doing what I could to complete my work and prepare knowledge transfer sessions as I organized the impending transition to my leave. Being open and proactive about my pregnancy allowed my team and manager to plan ahead, which made all the difference.
DoorDash’s generous maternity leave policy
One of the first things I discovered was just how generous DoorDash’s maternity leave policy is. Eligible employees can take up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave within a rolling 12-month period for bonding after a birth or when a child is adopted or fostered. Additionally, birth mothers can receive six to eight weeks of short-term disability payments depending on the type of delivery. This means that total leave can be as much as 24 weeks. I was amazed; this was the longest maternity leave I had ever heard of!
I feel incredibly fortunate to work for a company that so clearly values family. Many of my friends and family who recently had children could only take three to four months of leave. Six months felt like an extraordinary gift, allowing me to focus on being a new mom without the stress of rushing back to work.
What I appreciated most about the policy was its flexibility. Maternity leave could be taken in increments, which was especially helpful for someone like me who wanted to stay connected to ongoing work initiatives while also being present for my baby’s key milestones.
That flexibility allowed me to take 16 weeks of leave initially, return to work for 10 weeks, and then take the remaining eight weeks in 2025. This plan minimized disruption for my team while giving me time to focus on my baby during the initial transition. It also allows me to stay connected at work while giving me time for other key moments in my baby’s first year; I had reserved my remaining leave for when my baby starts crawling later in the year.
After I figured out the maternity leave, I started researching more about postpartum recovery. I expected it would be hard and overwhelming, so I wanted to prepare as much as I could. On the advice of a friend, we hired a birthing doula. She was incredible and supported us throughout the entire process. To my surprise, not long after hiring our doula, I learned that DoorDash’s fertility and postpartum benefits through Carrot include reimbursement for doulas. That was such a relief because doulas can be quite expensive.
Carrot’s benefits also cover night doulas – professionals who come to your home to take care of your baby while you recover and rest. This turned out to be one of DoorDash’s best maternity benefits. The night doula came to our home four nights a week and her support was invaluable. She allowed me to get the rest I needed and significantly sped up my recovery.
DoorDash’s parental leave policies, combined with the benefits offered through Carrot, demonstrate a genuine commitment to supporting families during one of life’s most transformative times. From generous leave options to inclusive benefits like birthing and night doulas, DoorDash goes above and beyond to ensure employees feel supported both emotionally and practically. This level of care not only makes it easier to navigate the challenges of parenthood but also reinforces the importance of a workplace culture that values and prioritizes family. I’m incredibly grateful to work for a company that understands and invests in the well-being of its employees during such a pivotal chapter of their lives.
DoorDash’s parental leave and Carrot benefits have made a huge difference in my motherhood journey. From the leave flexibility to the support of birthing and night doulas, I felt truly cared for during this overwhelming time. It’s rare to find a company that values family this much and I’m so thankful to be part of it.
A smooth return to work
The management team had my back not only during my pregnancy but also when I returned to work. When your baby is 14 weeks old, they are still so vulnerable. But it’s not just the baby who is vulnerable – you are, too. You’re still recovering from childbirth and your postpartum body is undergoing a massive adjustment and healing process. You’re the same technical professional at work, of course, but now you carry the enormous responsibility of caring for your baby, with whom you have a deep emotional connection. Every little thing feels significant and you find yourself constantly worrying.
The biggest challenge when returning to work is asking yourself, "Can I handle everything?" I knew there would be a lot to manage and I didn’t know what to expect. What if my baby got sick? What if I got sick? How would I care for my family, myself, and my baby if I needed extended time off? What if my baby had multiple sleep regressions, leaving me too exhausted to concentrate at work? These thoughts were overwhelming, so I knew I needed to create a solid plan to manage these scenarios:
- If my baby starts showing any sign of sickness: I will call the pediatrician immediately.
- Prevent myself from getting sick: I focused on staying healthy by taking immune-boosting supplements and committing to the gym at least three times a week to build my resilience.
- Support system: I shared my plan with my family, ensuring they were ready to step in and help keep me on track.
During my maternity leave, I stayed connected with my team. I sent Slack messages to my product manager and direct-report to stay updated on ongoing projects. The situation was complicated somewhat by the departure of my previous manager. Before returning, I met with my new manager. Although I was nervous about the change, my new manager reassured me. She encouraged me to ease back into my projects and emphasized that she understood the challenges of being a new mom returning to work.
With my plan in place and my manager’s support, my transition back to work felt much less stressful. I knew I had the tools and the backing I needed to navigate this new chapter successfully.
Conclusion
Becoming a mom while navigating a demanding career is challenging, but having a clear plan, a supportive manager, and a company culture that prioritizes family smoothed my path. DoorDash’s empathy, flexibility, and generous policies allowed me to thrive personally and professionally. It’s proof that when companies genuinely care for their employees, they enable them to succeed both at work and at home.
A key lesson I’d like to share is that it’s never too soon to evaluate parental leave and family benefits, especially when choosing where you want to work. When I signed my offer with DoorDash four years ago, I didn’t give much thought to this. At the time, it didn’t seem relevant to me. But as my priorities shifted and starting a family became a reality, having solid employer support became essential.
I feel incredibly fortunate now to work for a company that genuinely recognizes the importance of family. DoorDash’s commitment to supporting parents has had a profound impact on my life as a mother and I’m so grateful to be part of a workplace that values its employees in such a meaningful way.