Returning to Work After Maternity Leave? How to Handle the Guilt and Separation Anxiety

More from Working Mumma

1. 

   E198 · 14 Jul 2026 · 47 min

   Why does "ambitious mother" feel like a contradiction? How to reclaim your ambition after kids, with Dr. Anne Welsh

   Do you feel like you have to choose between being a good mum and having a meaningful career? Carina speaks with clinical psychologist and executive coach Dr. Anne Welsh, a mum of four who specialises in maternal mental health and works with women in leadership and working mothers navigating exactly this tension. We talk about why the "escalation of modern motherhood" means today's mums are being asked to do more, emotionally, logistically, and professionally, than any generation before them, and why that's not a personal failing, it's a systemic shift. Anne shares the research behind why…

2. 

   E197 · 1 Jul 2026 · 16 min

   Wondering If You Should Increase Your Work Days? 5 Signs It's Time

   Most conversations about returning to work after maternity leave focus on the return itself: the first day back, childcare drop-off, the mental load of becoming "mum and professional" again overnight. But what about six or twelve months later, when the arrangement you came back on stops fitting the life you're actually living? In this episode, Carina shares her experience moving from three to four days at work after her second maternity leave and the slow realisation it wasn't sustainable, the guilt that showed up, the conversations she had with her husband, her friends, and eventually her…

3. 

   E196 · 23 Jun 2026 · 55 min

   The Good Girl Trap: Why So Many Working Mums Are Burnt Out, Overwhelmed and Doing Too Much

   Have you ever returned to work after parental leave and found yourself saying: “I should just be grateful I have my job back” even when the role doesn’t fit your life anymore? That feeling has a name. It’s good girl conditioning. And it’s one of the most quietly powerful forces shaping the lives of working mothers. In this episode, Carina sits down with Caitlin Judd, a business consultant, coach, podcast host and author of Good Girl, for an honest, deeply relatable conversation about the inherited scripts that keep women small, silent and stuck. And what to do about it. What You’ll Learn in…

4. 

   E194 · 9 Jun 2026 · 45 min

   You're Not Less Ambitious. The World Around You Just Hasn't Caught Up Yet With Kat Francis

   Since going back to work after maternity leave, has anyone - a manager, a colleague, a well-meaning relative - implied that you've changed? That you're not quite as driven as you used to be? Maybe your focus has shifted? Because here's the truth: you haven't changed. Not in the way they think. Your ambition is still there, it's just evolved into something sharper, more purposeful, and more powerful than it's ever been. The problem isn't you. The world around you just hasn't caught up yet. This week on Working Mumma, I'm sitting down with Kat Francis, a Melbourne-based leadership coach for…

5. 

   E193 · 2 Jun 2026 · 14 min

   Going Back to Work Pregnant? How to Tell Your Employer Without the Guilt or the Panic

   Returning to work after parental leave is already a huge transition. But what if you're going back and you are pregnant? This week's episode comes straight from a listener DM, and it's one of the most relatable, raw, and important questions we've ever received on the show. In this episode, host Carina O'Brien tackles the fear, the guilt, and the very real practical questions that come with going back to work while pregnant. In this episode, I share: Why the guilt you're feeling is normal, and why you need to let it go The truth about how often this actually happens (hint: more than you…

6. 

   E192 · 26 May 2026 · 45 min

   Why Don't I Feel Like Me Anymore? Matrescence, Identity & Returning to Work with Amanda Jackson

   If you've ever returned to work after parental leave and thought, " I'm not the same person I was before I went on parental leave ", you are not imagining it. And there's actually a word for what you're going through. In this episode of the Working Mumma Podcast, I sit down with Amanda Jackson, founder of Motherhood and Matrescence and author of the book by the same name, to explore the concept of matrescence, the process of becoming a mother, and why understanding it is one of the most powerful tools a working mum can have. In this episode we chat about: • What matrescence is — and why…

7. 

   E205 · 6 Oct 2026 · 51 min

   The Working Mum Guilt That's Making Us Over-Parent

   Have you ever walked in the door after work and gone into overdrive? Extra cuddles, extra stories, saying yes to everything, because you feel like you need to make up for the hours you weren't there? You're not alone. And according to family therapist Jenny Brown, it might be part of what's making parenting feel so hard. Jenny has worked in family therapy and child mental health since the 1980s. Her new book, The Parenting Paradox , looks at why parents today have more information than ever but feel more anxious and overwhelmed. In this episode, she isn't offering a list of parenting hacks.…

8. 

   E204 · 15 Sep 2026 · 39 min

   Lost Your Confidence After Becoming a Mum? How to Find It Again at Work

   Have you recently said to yourself "I used to be really good at this before I had kids"? Returning to work after parental leave can bring a mix of emotions. You may have years of experience behind you, but suddenly you’re questioning yourself, worrying about how others perceive you, and questioning if you can still perform at the level you did before. And often it’s not that you’ve lost your capability, your confidence has taken a hit. In this episode of the Working Mumma Podcast, I chat with confidence and visibility expert Bec Sands about why women often hold themselves back at work, why…

9. 

   E203 · 2 Sep 2026 · 12 min

   The 4 Emotional Stages of Returning to Work After Maternity Leave

   Are you dreading the morning you go back to work after parental leave more than you're letting yourself admit? In this episode, Carina breaks down the four emotional waves that hit when you're returning to work after maternity leave. Because going back to work isn’t one single emotion, and it certainly isn’t a straight line. If you're currently in the thick of pre-return anxiety, or you're back at work and still cycling through hard days, this one's for you. Enjoyed this shorter episode? Send me a DM as I'd love your thoughts. Connect with Carina and Working Mumma Follow on Instagram Follow…

10. 

    E202 · 25 Aug 2026 · 34 min

    Returning to Work After Maternity Leave? Here's What I Wish Every Mum Knew

    You're back at your desk, but half your brain is still at daycare. You said yes to the meeting, forgot to eat lunch, and you're already dreading tomorrow's drop-off. If that's your version of returning to work after maternity leave, this episode is for you. In this episode, Carina goes solo to unpack what it actually feels like to return to work after maternity leave — not just the logistics, but the identity shift, the mental load, and the quiet pressure to prove yourself all over again. Drawing on her own two returns to work (10 months off with her first son, 13 months with her second)…

Every episode of Working Mumma →