The transition back to work after childbirth is often an invisible transition. So overshadowed by the seismic shift of welcoming a new baby into the world, the return to work can come as an afterthought – for the new mother and for the people in her orbit.

This workbook is meant to provide space for the spaceless expectation to “just” go back to work. My goal is to offer reflections, exercises, and activities to help support new mothers in gently transitioning and tending to their wellness so the return is not so bumpy.

The publishing industry doesn’t have much to say on this topic. When I identified that gap, I sat down to write Employed Motherhood: Healthily and Holistically Transition Back to Work after Having a Baby.

This is a companion piece where I translate some of those insights into tangible activities. It wasn’t simple.

There are so many moving parts to working motherhood; it can be hard to know where to start, what to prioritize, and how deep to dive into certain areas. To that end, I want to acknowledge this workbook does not strive to say it all.

I chose to organize the book into sections corresponding to the major periods of transition, starting from the prenatal period to the immediate post-partum period, the preparation for return to work, and a final “settling in” section. Because maternity leaves vary in length, I tried to avoid specifics about what age a baby might be in preparation for returning to work and settling in.

For some moms with just the briefest of leaves (I see you!), the immediate post-partum period is the preparation for return to work, so exercises in either section might apply. I’ve broken down each section into the major areas of challenge I’ve identified both personally and professionally, including through eight in-depth interviews I conducted as part of my research for the Employed Motherhood book.

Each section starts with a focus on emotions since that’s the core of my practice. From there (in no particular order), I include activities on sleep, nutrition, finance, childcare, relationships, and physical wellness.

Each of these topics deserves its own library of material; I’ve boiled it down to a few key elements of focus to set you up for success. Throughout the book, you’ll see a variety of activities, including free-form journaling, brainstorming, and coloring, as well as mindfulness exercises and exercises inspired by cognitive behavioral therapy.

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