AT&T and Maven expand fertility benefits to support 125,000 employees

Starting a family is no easy feat, but when an employer offers a helping hand, it can make a huge impact in the short and long-term. 

AT&T recently announced they're extending their partnership with family benefits platform Maven to offer all employees, regardless of title or tenure, access to fertility and family building benefits. AT&T's 125,000 employees will have access to Maven's virtual guidance and education around egg freezing, IVF, adoption and surrogacy, as well as care advocates who can guide employees to fertility specialists and additional treatment when needed. 

AT&T has worked with Maven since 2021, offering employees support for maternity and postpartum care. Extending the partnership into family building was a natural progression of what employees are requesting from their benefit plans, says Matt Phillips, AT&T's AVP of benefits. 

"When it comes to employee well-being, we try to put the employee experience at the center," Phillips says. "We heard some anecdotal feedback from people who needed some help navigating how to use their fertility benefits, and Maven will help guide them through that journey." 

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Beyond the early stages of family building, Maven will continue to provide maternity and postpartum services, like virtual doula services for the first six weeks after birth. Research from Stork Club found that doula care can lead to a 45% reduction in unnecessary C-sections and a 58% reduction in preterm births, compared to national averages.

"We offer virtual doula support through Maven as well as in-person doula support during pregnancy, birth and the first six weeks of a baby's life," Phillips says. "That's not only to help the mother, but we've seen that it reduces complications during birth." 

The benefits of virtual care

Offering inclusive support with a virtual care option can break barriers employees may face in accessing necessary care, Phillips says. It also improves health and well-being outcomes during pregnancy and beyond. 

"There should be no difference in access based on socio-economic level, and we also know that some employees live in care deserts where they can't find the care that they need," Phillips says. "Very high-quality virtual care goes a long way to filling some of those gaps." 

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Taking into account the physical toll of the full family building journey ensures that employees are mentally cared for as well, Phillips says. AT&T offers caregiving leave, breast milk shipping and extensive time off for new parents. Phillips understands firsthand how challenging those early days are, he says. 

"I have three boys and they are a joy, but it is a lot of work. I started my job at AT&T when my youngest was only 13 days old," Phillips says. "My wife was dealing with our newborn and I'm at work and there's just a lot of stress. We wanted to remove as much of that as we could." 

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AT&T's move is also strategic — fertility benefits play an increasingly important role in recruiting and retaining employees. Research from Maven found that 57% of employees have taken a job or would consider a job specifically for reproductive care. These benefits are particularly impactful for Gen Z and millennials, as 46% of Gen Z and 35% of millennials say this support influences their job decisions. Both generations also ranked fertility support as their top benefit priority, Maven found. 

The eventual goal of AT&T's approach to family-centric benefits is to create an environment where all employees feel cared for, whether in or out of the workplace. Family building is an area where they've seen a huge impact, and one they'll continue to invest in. 

"We want to make sure that we meet each and every one of our employees where they are, regardless of their needs, and regardless of their journey to building their family," Phillips says. "Whatever that employee need is, that's the gap that we want to fill."