“As a female Senior Director to my company, I am an important figure in the running of the business in which I have carved my career over 15 years. Finding myself newly pregnant, though so sweet to me in my personal life, was made bittersweet by my knowledge of just how much my pregnancy could cost the business in which I had invested myself so heavily. This bitterness was only exacerbated by the fact that there had been three other recent announcements of pregnancy amongst my female colleagues.

The clock was ticking, and I felt almost sick, certainly panicked, as I tried to think of ways to tell me MD my news. I admit I was completely overwhelmed by the thought of how I was ever going to successfully strike the right balance between motherhood, the needs of my company and my career.

When the time came to tell my MD, he congratulated me warmly without the slightest sign of anxiety, and immediately introduced me to his secret weapon: Yvette's Maternity Coaching Programme.

My initial meeting with Yvette changed my perception of the mountain I had before thought was so insurmountable; together we came up with a solid plan of action which would enable me to maintain close contact with my career through pregnancy, birth, new motherhood and, finally, the 'dreaded' return to work.

Yvette's understanding of the wider implications of pregnancy on the organisation, identity and relationships with colleagues meant that she had these issues covered before they happened, and was able to tell me precisely how they could be dealt with calmly and successfully. Coaching with her helped me to deal with those simple practicalities, such as finding a replacement whilst on maternity leave, that seem so big, and she was a huge help emotionally, explaining the ways in which I might start to feel my identity and my colleagues' perception of me shift within the business.