Somehow you expect better from law firms – they can’t plead ignorance of employment law, after all – but it turns out that they can be just as bad as other employers when it comes to maternity rights.The National Childbirth Trust (NCT) surveyed 1,541 mothers from the legal and other sectors returning to work after maternity leave. Its findings paint a depressingly familiar picture. One third of women returning from maternity leave felt their promotion prospects had been diminished by the mere fact of having a child. 13% of them found they had lost seniority, one in three were concerned about the attitude of senior management or colleagues, and 39% rated going back to work ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’.

Samantha Mangwana, an employment solicitor at national firm Russell Jones & Walker, says: ‘Women lawyers can be sidelined from the moment they announce they are pregnant or when they get back from maternity leave. The stereotypical assumption is they have lost their hunger for the job. And the prejudice is not gender-specific – female partners can be the worst offenders.’

Redundancies have increased during the recession, Mangwana says, with many women lawyers on maternity leave losing their jobs. ‘It’s out of sight, out of mind, and an easy amendment to the headcount.’ The affected lawyer can often win a generous settlement, but this is a double-edged sword because ‘law firms are reaching for the cheque book, rather than sorting out their maternity policy’.

So sleepless nights are just one consequence of ensuring the survival of the human race. There is also the small matter of a wrecked career.

‘Don’t despair,’ says Clare McConnell, chairwoman of the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS). The AWS helpline receives numerous calls from senior and trainee women solicitors who want their legal careers to continue to go forward when they return from maternity leave. McConnell says: ‘Our advice, to members and law firms, is to put in place a range of flexible working practices. Structured correctly, these will allow a long-term partnership between solicitor and employer that works for both of them. Our members tell us that practices which have embraced this partnership model are seen as the most supportive firms for women solicitors to work in.’

Other organisations also offer advice. NCT chief executive Belinda Phipps says: ‘It’s about understanding and respect, not just processes.’ Many employers have the policies in place, she adds, but ‘aren’t offering the right, if any, support to a valuable proportion of their workforce’.

Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, a campaigning charity which supports and gives a voice to working parents, says: ‘As soon as you find out you are pregnant, talk to your boss and make sure it is all planned and prepared for. Communication really is essential.’

The NCT and Working Families have published two free guides for mothers and employers. Visit www.workingfamilies.org.uk.