Once had a tech manager who was promoted, at 8mo pregnant. Everyone said congrats, her mat leave cover was jokingly told that the shoes he needed to fill just got a bit bigger, and she was back in her role 12mo later. It really doesn’t have to be a problem.

I can understand that a team is hesitant to hire a person into a completely new role (voluntary transfers don’t typically include a promotion at Google and similar companies, although they can mean a perceived step up), especially when it includes manager duties, only to have them absent for the first year or so. It’s just dissonant in terms of expectations and needs and the reality. But (and I think this always gets left out in the discussion), if a pregnant women is the best candidate for the role, she should be covered by another colleague for her mat leave duration and then she should take over after, even if it means inconvenience and mental dissonance for the team. Anything else is discriminatory, because pregnancy does not void competence and aptitude.