And some women have even faced remarks about the way they look during pregnancy, with 64% reporting that their boss or colleague had made inappropriate comments about their appearance.

“The fact that the majority of pregnant women have experienced inappropriate or degrading comments from a colleague or their boss about the way they look is shameful,” Brearley added.

“Why as a society do we accept women being a target for such abuse? These hurtful comments chip away at women’s confidence, their ambition and feeling of belonging.”

On 24 July, the Protection From Redundancy (Pregnancy And Family Leave) Act 2023, which aims to shield expectant mothers and new parents from workplace discrimination, is set to come into force.

Under the current law, employees on maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave have the right to be offered a suitable alternative if their role is made redundant, but the new Act means that this priority status will apply to pregnant employees too, as well as those who have recently come back from maternity or shared parental leave.

However, the government will need to set out exactly how this will work in practice for employers and workers, and those regulations are unlikely to come into force before next spring.

Discrimination and hurtful comments are pushing mothers out of the workplace