When Mothers are About to Return to Work After Maternity Leave: A Descriptive Study in the Netherlands

The return to work after maternity leave is reported to be a stressful event for many mothers. Yet, little is known about their experience just before returning. This descriptive study explored mothers' evaluation of this period, their levels of anticipatory postpartum work resumption stress (APWRS), their caregiving decisions, and factors that could support them.

Self-reported data were collected from 236 Dutch mothers of infants planning to return to work within the next month.

One in five mothers in our sample assigned an unsatisfactory evaluation rating (five or below) to the period before the return. While mothers reported experiencing concerns about work-family imbalance and child separation, many mothers also expressed positive thoughts and emotions about their upcoming return. Two-thirds made adjustments to infant care in preparation for their return to work, such as adjusting infant sleep routines, starting with bottle feeding, and weaning off or stopping breastfeeding. Mothers who made caregiving changes experienced greater APWRS. Social support, longer leave, gradual work re-entry, better sleep, and improved health were identified to benefit mothers approaching the transition to postpartum employment. Additionally, mothers experiencing higher levels of both near-environment and workplace support reported lower levels of APWRS and assigned a higher evaluation rating to the period before returning to work.

Our findings highlight the need for further research on the period prior to mothers' return to work, specifically regarding how they feel, the caregiving practices they consequently adopt, and how they can be supported.