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What really happens when mums return to work after having a baby?

In this episode of Stay at Work Mums, Emily Napora talks to Georgina Burridge, Amy Bach and Elisabeth Coates to explore the emotional, practical and systemic challenges of returning to work after maternity leave.

Together, they share stories of premature birth, trauma, demotions, redundancies, lost confidence, unexpected pivots and the quiet resilience required to rebuild a career while raising young children. Their experiences reveal how common these challenges are, and how much support is still missing for working mums.

This conversation dives into

• ​ The shock of returning to work when everything, including you, has changed
• ​ How poorly managed maternity leave can derail a woman’s career
• ​ The emotional toll of redundancy and sidelining during postpartum
• ​ The pressure of part‑time work, boundaries and mum guilt
• ​ Why ambition doesn’t disappear just because hours change
• ​ The importance of choice, control and being included in decisions about your own career
• ​ What employers could be doing differently to make staying in work easier

This episode is for mums preparing to return, leaders who want to do better, and anyone who believes work should work for families. These are personal stories, raw, varied and deeply relatable and they shine a light on what needs to change so staying in work isn’t just possible, but easier.

Welcome to Stay at Work Mums.

In this short intro episode, I share the story behind the podcast, why I started it, what I’ve learnt from becoming a mum, and what I hope to achieve.

Why is it still so hard for mums to stay in work after having kids? And what can we do to change that?!

It isn’t about ‘fixing mums’ but bringing the whole network together. Mums, businesses, support systems, and networks together to understand what’s happening and to start to reimagine how it actually works.

New episodes every two weeks, including real stories, honest conversations and ideas on what could change.

MIND THE MUM GAP (MTMG) minisodes alternate weeks, providing quick insights from psychology.

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