Marissa From Kyte Baby Shares Her Story: Support, Maternity Leave for Adoptive Parents

Marissa Kyte Baby maternity leave adoptive parents

By E.Baloyo , Parent Herald Jan 23, 10:33 am

Photo: (Photo : YASIN AKGUL / Getty Images)

Kyte Baby became the talk of the internet after a former employee got her request to work remotely denied while her premature baby was in the NICU.

Marissa, an employee from the baby apparel brand Kyte Baby, is now sharing her side of the story.

Marissa's story went viral on TikTok after the CEO of the baby clothing brand posted an apology video that the public immediately noticed as insincere.

Marissa Shares Her Side of the Kyte Baby Story

Marissa, 26, became a new mom to a premature baby boy through adoption. She and her husband have been trying to conceive for three years using the reproductive methods of intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Additionally, Marissa has undergone three miscarriages, which became a pivotal point for couples to decide to become parents through adoption. With that, they became parents to a premature baby boy who was born at 22 weeks.

The NICU mom was transparent to their CEO, Ying Liu, that she and her husband are exploring adoption. When Judah was born and admitted to the NICU of a hospital in Texas, Marissa requested remote work, given that the hospital is 9 hours away from Kyte Baby's office.

She stated that she was under the assumption that this will be granted since she had agreed on a video call with two higher-ups to establish her new remote work schedule.

Marissa realized that after the call, she had questions about Kyte Baby's maternity leave policy. She was concerned about her eligibility since Kyte Baby's policies only apply to biological parents.

Following her inquiry, she was assured by HR management that, as an adoptive parent, Marissa was eligible. However, just a few moments after that, her remote work request was tagged as pending approval from the CEO.

Support and Maternity Leave for Adoptive Parents

It was later revealed that the CEO did not feel her job could be done remotely, and if she could not return to the office after her maternity leave, they would part ways.

Marissa was saddened by how she was fired just 8 hours after that call with her management. She was in tears in front of the management, saying that she did not want to quit her job and adding that this was not what she wanted.

The NICU mom felt like hitting a brick wall with the whole situation. Instead of coming up with a work solution for her schedule, she was then immediately fired after her request to work remotely was denied.

After this broke out on the internet, the founder of a Texas-based company specializing in bamboo-infant clothing, Ying Liu, issued apologies on TikTok for rejecting Marissa's remote-work request during her adopted newborn son's NICU stay.

The first video received 2.8 million views, followed by the second with 6 million views. In the second video, Liu admitted, "I posted an official apology on TikTok, and as comments rightly pointed out, it was scripted. I've decided to go off-script now."

Taking responsibility for the rejection, Liu stated, "I made the decision to deny Marissa's request to work remotely while caring for her adopted baby in the NICU. Looking back, it was a terrible mistake-insensitive, selfish, and not considering the possibility of remote work."

Acknowledging the stress Marissa faced, Liu added, "I can't imagine the pressure she experienced, unable to return to work with a newborn in the NICU. It was a significant error, and I fully own up to it."

@kytebaby ♬ original sound - kytebaby

The incident resonated with viewers empathizing with Marissa's challenges as a new mother in the corporate world.