Daigle, Kelsie L., authorFisher, Gwenith G., advisorCrain, Tori, committee memberHarman, Jennifer, committee memberAoki, Eric, committee member2019-06-142019-06-142019https://hdl.handle.net/10217/195308This inductive, exploratory study aimed to increase our understanding about the parental leave and return to work process. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to identify how expectant mothers make decisions about parental leave before they take leave, to identify personal and workplace factors that predict expectant mothers' decision-making about parental leave pre-leave, and to understand how expectant mothers and employers plan ahead at work and in their career for taking leave and returning to work. I constructed semi-structured interview questions to address these research questions. I used an exploratory qualitative analysis method to analyze the data. The research team coded the data through first-level and second-level strategies, and then I identified major themes. The six main findings from the themes are 1) the monetary cost of things (e.g., childcare) in relation to household income played a major role in planning and decision making for parental leave, 2) participants varied in their perceptions on how much of a role their coworkers and supervisors play, 3) qualification for parental leave benefits (e.g., such as qualifying for Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) benefits) or available sick or vacation time strongly influenced plans for when to take leave and for how long, 4) participants believe that supervisors and leaders in organizations can better support pregnant working women by supporting paid leave, knowing more about the policies and procedures around leave, and more flexibility around work hours and location, 5) participants expressed, and it became a clear theme, that each pregnancy and work situation around parental leave is different, and 6) culture may or may not play a role in the experience of parental leave. These data may be a foundation to inform the development of interventions to help expectant mothers and their employers navigate this process successfully.born digitalmasters thesesengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.industrial organizational psychologyparental leavequalitativematernity leavedecision-making for parental leaveplanning for parental leaveText