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

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1. 

   E206 · 13 Oct 2026 · 31 minNew

   We Can't Wait for the System to Change. How to Make Working Motherhood Work Right Now

   The system needs to change. Childcare, workplaces, flexibility: we know it. Government policy and organisational cultures don't change overnight. While we wait for policy to catch up, how do we make working motherhood work for us now without accepting that the current system is good enough? In this honest solo episode, Carina explores why there is no single formula for combining motherhood and a career, how our needs and priorities evolve as our children grow, and why the responsibility for making it work cannot rest on mothers alone. From the realities of family life and childcare to…

2. 

   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.…

3. 

   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…

4. 

   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…

5. 

   E201 · 18 Aug 2026 · 16 min

   Running on Empty as a Working Mum? Why Taking a Break Might Be the Most Productive Thing You Do

   Have you ever come back from a holiday feeling like you need another holiday? Or realised, only after you've stopped, just how exhausted you really were? That's exactly what happened to Carina. After a busy period of balancing her corporate role, work travel, Working Mumma, two young boys and the mental load of running a household, Carina headed away for a week's holiday with her family. Carina talks about: The difference between taking time off and actually mentally detaching from work What Carina noticed when her own brain finally started to quieten The real cost of ignoring your…

6. 

   E200 · 4 Aug 2026 · 45 min

   Lost Yourself in Motherhood? How to Reclaim Who You Are Beyond Being Mum

   Is it possible to absolutely love being a mum... and still feel like something is missing? For so many women, motherhood brings immense joy—but it can also bring an unexpected sense of loss. The loss of confidence, identity, ambition or simply remembering who you were before everyone needed a piece of you. In this deeply honest conversation, I sit down with author, speaker and coach Benita Bensch to talk about the parts of motherhood we don't often say out loud. Benita shares her journey through raising four boys on the land, experiencing two significant periods of burnout she describes as…

7. 

   E199 · 29 Jul 2026 · 19 min

   Feeling Lost Returning to Work After Maternity Leave? How to Find Your New Rhythm

   Returning to work after maternity leave is often portrayed as the final hurdle for new mothers, but what if it's actually just the beginning of a much more complex journey? In this eye-opening episode, Carina challenges the common narrative and reveals why the hardest part of motherhood may not be the leave itself, but the transition back to work. You'll discover the concept of "matrescence," a term that captures the transformative process of becoming a mother and how it impacts your confidence and career trajectory. Carina dives into the real struggles many working mothers face, from the…

8. 

   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…

9. 

   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…