How WIN Fertility and EY are supporting new parents

POSTPARTUM MENTAL HEALTH: On the newest episode of Employee Benefit News ' award-winning podcast, Perk Up!, a psychotherapist from WIN Fertility discusses postpartum depression, and how the right access to benefits can help new moms and their families get through the challenging early days after giving birth.

"For postpartum depression, there can be this feeling of this doesn't feel like me," says Alyssa Baron, a psychologist and behavioral healthcare manager at WIN. "It can almost feel impossible to admit or tell someone that you're experiencing feelings of regret or sadness or hopelessness."

Listen to the episode to learn more about postpartum mental health and the support moms need: Perk Up! Giving birth, then back to work: Supporting postpartum mental health

PARENTAL LEAVE BENEFITS: Alice Potts , experience manager at 安永 , was fortunate enough to have 16 weeks of paid maternity leave after having her twins over two years ago. She had also taken advantage of EY's program, Pathways to Parenthood, which provides up to $50,000 for expenses related to infertility, surrogacy, egg and sperm preservation, as well as adoption. Later, after her leave was over, Potts was granted a flexible work arrangement so she could successfully transition back to her role at EY while juggling her new role as a mom of two.?

"For the first year, I came back to work four days a week," says Potts. "I really had time to connect with my [kids] early on and build a wonderful relationship. Even now I can pick up my kids from school, play with them, and then come back online and work."

Read more about EY's programs and how they ease the transition for parents: How EY supports parents beyond maternity leave

PAID LEAVE LOGISTICS: Today, 57% of employees have no access to any kind of short-term disability leave — including parental leave, medical leave or caregiving leave. Currently, the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the only nation-wide regulation for leave, and while it has done much to establish job security for those who need it, there's still confusion around how much time and compensation are covered.?

"Leave claims are still at all-time highs," says Deborah Hanus , co-founder and CEO of Sparrow , a leave management solution. "Almost any employee who's taken leave will tell you it's not a pleasant experience because there are so many different things you need to be thinking about and there's nothing to make the process go smoothly, even when HR departments have the best intentions."

Here's how Sparrow is making leave seamless for employers and employees alike: Applying for paid leave? This company makes it a one-step process