Breaking news for working mothers

Working mothers have better mental health, are able to build healthier relationships within the family and boost the household income all of which aids their child’s development, a new study has found. They are also likely to have higher quality childcare outside the home, benefiting the children further.

The study, led by New York’s Columbia University School of Social Work, also found that the children of mothers who worked less than 30 hours a week benefited the most from the positive aspects without losing out on parental attention and interaction.

In some instances, children of mums who worked part-time during the first year were less likely to develop behavioural problems. This study will come as good news for working mums and here is a guide for making that transition from childcare to work as easy as it can be:

• If you are breastfeeding, start your weaning programme weeks before you need to go back to work. oost health experts advise that babies receive the best nutrition if they are breastfed for the first six months of their life, so if your baby is young you might want to consider expressing and storing breast milk while you are at work.

• Whether your baby will be receiving breast milk or formula, it will have to be through a bottle while you are at work so you will need to get your baby used to a bottle. Try to introduce feeds with a bottle for a couple of weeks before you return to work.

• Start researching daycare facilities as soon as you can. If they know they will be returning to work, many mothers even book their child in before they are born. Ask friends and neighbours about local daycares and kindergartens and visit www.workingforfamilies.govt.nz to find out what childcare entitlements you may be eligible for.

• Some mothers feel happier hiring a nanny for one-on-one care when their babies are young, although this is a more expensive option than daycare. What is important is that you have chosen the best caregiver you can for your child, so spend a lot of time finding the right person or daycare facility. If you don’t then you will only be buying yourself headaches and worries when you’re back at work, rather than being able to relax, safe in the knowledge that your child is happy.

• Make sure you transition your child from full-time care with you, to care with another person, by letting them visit the childcare centre a few weeks earlier and have some trial runs for a few hours at a time.

• Be prepared for the fact that your child probably won’t be very happy for those first few days that you are back at work. If you can, start your first week back on reduced hours to ease you and your child into the new routine.

• Know that most children, after a while, calm down the minute your car has left the daycare centre’s driveway. If you keep running back to soothe your child, you are merely reinforcing their behaviour. Trust the staff of your daycare centre to know how to deal with separation anxiety and take their advice. They do this every day.

• Don’t allow others, or yourself, to make you feel guilty for working. As this new study shows, your child is not being harmed in any way and, for many women, working and contributing to the family income is important for building self-esteem. Seek out other working women and use them as a support network. Perhaps there are other mothers at your daycare or a working mother at your office who would be interested in a coffee now and then.
• Explain to your employer that things might be a bit chaotic the first week after you return to work as you and your baby adjust. Do your best to stick to your working hours and not let your workmates down by leaving early or arriving late. Not everyone has children and will be understanding if you take time out and they can’t.
• Get help from your partner and extended family. Too often it is the working mother who is on drop off and pick up while their partner simply sails off to his office. Share the load, even with grandparents who can do the occasional pick-up for you while catch up on work deadlines, or perhaps take an extra half hour to do something special with your hair one morning a week.