Back to work: Amazon supports an effortless transition for new parents

Motherhood is a life-changing transition and the experiences of motherhood are almost universal. While many women take this deep dive into tirelessly pursuing motherhood, nothing can ever prepare one to be a parent. For most working mothers, going back to work post maternity leave might seem overwhelming, confusing and quite often they are at crossroads. In such situations, it helps a great deal if the organisation they are working for, steps up to support working mothers.

At Amazon, the company has them covered, or should we say swaddled up! Amazon doesn’t just offer paid maternity/paternity leave but also has a great Ramp Back Program, Daycare Benefits and on-site Mother’s Rooms. Read on to learn how Amazon India is enabling back-to-work mothers with a smoother transition:

Whether you are a birthing mother or an adoptive one, Amazon sees no difference. Amazon India Paid Maternity Leave offers benefit to employees including birth mothers and adoptive mothers. The benefit provides a continuous job protected, paid leave of absence for up to 26 weeks surrounding the birth or adoption of a child. Any untoward circumstance, such as loss of pregnancy or still birth, Amazon extends anywhere between six to 10 weeks of paid leave, depending on the severity of the situation.

According to, Sakshi Dadhich, Senior Program Manager, “Like many of the first time working moms to be, I was unsure of what curve balls I am going to face in coming months. However, the support and information I received about the Maternity Benefit helped me prepare myself. I was provided with flexible work hours in my last trimester to ensure I get enough rest as I continue to deliver on high end impactful projects. Returning from my maternity break felt like coming back from a small vacation, the process was so smooth and the touchpoints were so encouraging. I knew I am in the right place to be a working mom when on the day I delivered my baby, I was told about my promotion at work along with the promotion in life.”

If you think returning to work after a long weekend is tough, can you fathom how challenging it would be to come back after taking weeks of leave, post-delivery? Transition is never easy and definitely not for new parents. Hence, Amazon’s Ramp Back Program was introduced to help provide employees with the opportunity to ease the transition back to work following a pregnancy-related leave of absence.

According to Nishtha Jain, Senior Program Manager at Amazon, “Ojas (her son) was 5 months when I returned to work. It gave me goosebumps to think about leaving my little one at home for almost 11 hours a day. The ramp back option came as a great relief to me. On top of this, my team provided me flexibility to work from home and to work at any time of the day. The transition was so smooth that I was able to ramp back in just a month!” Under the Ramp Back Program, employees can have a modified work schedule for up to 8 weeks. This helps them ease their way into working full time without getting overwhelmed. It also helps them with the transition of juggling both work and childcare.

Motherhood also calls for self-care gift, especially if they are a nursing-and-working mother! Every nursing mother needs a nursing room which is clean, has privacy and functional at all times. Amazon has special rooms called Mothers Room, within the premises of Amazon India offices, for mothers at work. These cozy, private rooms can be used solely by working mothers to spend quiet time with their infants, to breastfeed them, or to express milk. These rooms have comfortable seating for the nursing mother with plug points for electrical breast pump usage and a refrigerator to store bottled breast milk. Manager Ramya Raghuram, who rejoined Amazon post maternity break spoke about her experience using Mother’ room.

She said, “When my maternity break of 6 months was ending, I was super excited to re-join office and raring to get restarted on my work. While I had a great support system back at home, I was concerned on how my little one would cope without nursing, as I was exclusively nursing her for first 6 months. Also being a big proponent of Breastfeeding, I wanted to continue to nurse her. I was informed about the Mother’s room within Amazon office. I promptly got myself access to the Mothers room and visited it before I rejoined work. I was amazed at how thoughtfully the room was designed with all facilities needed for a pumping mother – clean, hygienic & comfortable. I used it for 3 months and the transition for both me and my baby was smooth. It helped me actually focus on my work better, as I was mentally at peace that I was doing my best for my baby. I feel fortunate to be working with Amazon which ensured these facilities are in place, making it easier for returning mothers to ramp up, both professionally and personally!”

Ruchira Shandilya, an L&D Specialist also stated that, “It’s not always easy to balance work and being a new mom! The Mother’s room helped me transition back to work by providing me a comfortable space to pump in, when my son was still very young. This empowered me to realize my breastfeeding goal and to continue to provide the benefits of breastmilk to my son.”

Day care centers are known to boost the productivity of any working parent, allowing them to return to work in a short time. Amazon India has extended its child care benefit to all parents, including adoptive parents, wherein the policy enables access to a network of childcare providers for employees to select a childcare center as per their requirement and avail their services at a discounted rate. The benefits are offered to all employees across Amazon India and even virtual employees with children aged six months to six years. Besides, an employee can avail the benefits for up to two children!

Thanks to the tie-up with the childcare management partner, employees at Amazon enjoy multiple benefits including access to a network of childcare providers, consultation services to find a childcare center and a discounted price for the services that they avail.

With varieties of parental leave, an effective ramp back program, daycare benefits and private rooms for mothers, Amazon India offers working parents with an inclusive work environment! They are truly paving a smoother path not just to motherhood but fatherhood as well.