Girls Night #306: How to Prepare Your Career for Motherhood with Jena Dunay

Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson

Stephanie May Wilson

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Relationships, Mental Health

4.9 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happens when two of the biggest parts of your life collide—your career and your desire to start a family? That’s exactly what we’re talking about in today’s Girls Night episode. I’m joined by my dear friend Jena Dunay—a mom of two, business owner, and career strategist who has spent years helping women navigate big transitions in their work lives. Jena knows firsthand what it looks like to juggle both career ambitions and motherhood dreams, and she’s here to share the wisdom she’s learned along the way. In this conversation, we cover: How to prepare your career for baby before you’re even pregnant What to do if you love your job but also know you want to start a family soon Whether you should “pull back” at work before baby—or lean in until it’s time to pivot How to know if your workplace will really support you as a mom The truth about maternity leave (paid vs. unpaid, how it works, what to ask your HR team) When and how to tell your employer you’re pregnant Practical ways to set boundaries and actually enjoy your maternity leave How to define “success” in your career during different motherhood seasons This episode is full of encouragement and practical advice for anyone who’s in what I call The Everything Era—that stretch of life when so many big decisions seem to come at once. If you’ve ever wondered how to hold space for both a career you love and a family you’re dreaming of, this conversation will be such a gift. Resources & Links: Connect with Jena: Instagram / Company Listen to Jena’s past Girls Night episodes on dating, singleness, and career transitions. More encouragement + resources for navigating The Everything Era: stephaniemaywilson.com ✨ If you loved this conversation, would you take 30 seconds to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify? It means the world and helps more women find the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey friends, today I'm sitting down with my real-life friend Jenna Dune for a conversation
0:08.5	about something I wish every woman knew before she started trying to get pregnant.
0:13.7	How to actually prepare your career for motherhood.
0:17.1	Here's the thing. We're living in this everything era where major life decisions are all happening at once.
0:23.7	And one of the biggest challenges is that right when your career is starting to take off, usually
0:28.4	your late 20s and your 30s, that's also when your body is saying, hey, if we're going to
0:33.7	have kids, now is the time.
0:36.4	But here's what nobody tells you.
0:38.1	There's actually a lot you can do before you get pregnant to set yourself up for success.
0:42.7	And that's exactly what we're talking about today.
0:45.5	Jenna is a career strategist who runs an HR services company, and she's navigated this intersection in multiple ways.
0:52.5	She's worked in corporate, gone out on her own, gone back to
0:55.8	corporate specifically for maternity leave benefits, and then started her own business again.
1:01.0	So she knows exactly what questions to ask and what moves to make. We're covering the preparation phase
1:06.8	today, how to get crystal clear on your career values before a baby comes, what questions to ask about
1:12.4	maternity leave policies, how to evaluate if your current company is actually family friendly,
1:17.5	and when to make strategic career moves if it's not. If you're thinking about having kids in the
1:22.8	next few years, this episode is going to give you a roadmap for preparing your career so you're
1:27.3	not scrambling to figure it your career so you're not
1:27.5	scrambling to figure it all out once you're pregnant or postpartum. You ready? Let's dive in.
1:41.8	All right, friends, I'm super excited for who we have back on the show today. I'm sitting here with my real-life friend, Jenna Dune. Jenna, welcome back to Girls' Night. I feel like I've been here a million times, but it's been a really long time since I've been back, and I'm just pumped to be here with you. So it's an honor, always to be here. Like, how have we, how have I let it go on so long?
2:01.6	Trust me, when I tell you, that will not happen again.
	...

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