Not every pregnancy or adoption has a happy ending. Sadly, 10%-15% of known pregnancies will end in miscarriage, about 1 in 160 pregnancies end in stillbirth, and between 10-16% of adoptions don’t go through. This can lead to a period of deep sadness and grief for parents who experience this. As a manager, consider the way this type of experience might impact your employees. You can play a major role in helping your employee feel valued and comforted. Consider these unique challenges experienced by grieving parents:

• It doesn’t matter how early or how late the loss took place, it’s a loss of a child no matter what. Be aware of how your own bias toward the stage the loss occurred might influence the way you respond. Always respond with compassion and empathy.

• Parents who take time off work after a loss may face unique challenges. Time off policies may be unclear as short-term disability or FMLA may or may not cover the absence depending on policy guidelines. And bereavement policies are often only a couple of days. Work with your local HR and offer flexibility when possible, to help your employee have the time needed to grieve, recover, and take care of any personal matters.

• Returning to work may also be difficult. Some employees may be so early in the process that they hadn’t had a chance yet to disclose they were pregnant or adopting. This may make it hard to explain to team members why they were absent. While others may struggle to face co-workers, who were excited along the journey with them. You can ask your employee what would help them best and guide your team accordingly on what is okay and what is not helpful upon returning to work.

• There is no timeline for grief to start and end. Don’t expect someone to “be over it” at a certain time. Grief is complicated and no one experiences it in the same way. Offer your support and proactively ask what you can do to help.

• If you notice changes in job performance or attendance, don’t jump to conclusions too quickly. Talk with your employee and elicit help from your local HR and Employee Assistance Program for additional support. It may be that your employee needs some temporary accommodations or to talk to a professional in order to get past some hurdles.

Experiencing the loss of a child is something no parent should ever have to go through. But you can support your employees by providing the right tools to help them through this and regain a sense of “normalcy.” Your leadership and partnership at a time like this is invaluable and can surprisingly aid in their recovery.