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Going Back to Work: Planning Childcare and Balancing Life

Practical tips for choosing childcare, easing the transition and looking after yourself.

Before you use this guide: This is general educational information, not an individual medical assessment. We do not identify a clinician reviewer on this page, so please confirm personal health decisions with your doctor, midwife or paediatrician.

Returning to work after maternity leave can bring mixed feelings, from relief and excitement to worry and sadness. A little planning makes the transition smoother for you and your baby.

Start planning early

• Childcare places, especially for babies, can have long waiting lists, so enquire during pregnancy or in the first months.
• Work out your budget and what financial help is available, such as government subsidies, tax credits, employer schemes or flexible spending accounts. Our maternity leave pages explain the entitlements in each country.
• Talk to your employer several months before your return about your hours, your return date and whether a phased return or flexible working is possible.
• Know your rights, including any right to break time and a private place (not a toilet) to express milk. These differ by country.

Types of childcare

• Nurseries or daycare centres: structured, regulated, longer hours and usually more reliable cover, but often the most expensive in the early months.
• Childminders or family day care: care in a home setting, often with smaller groups and more flexible hours.
• Nannies or au pairs: care in your own home, which can suit shift work or several children, though you may become the employer.
• Family and friends: familiar and flexible, but agree expectations, safety rules and feeding or sleep routines clearly.

What to look for when you visit

• Visit in person, ideally more than once and at different times of day.
• Ask about staff qualifications, first-aid training, ratios and turnover. Happy, settled staff make a big difference.
• Watch how staff talk to babies and how they handle crying, feeding and sleep. Ask about safe sleep practice.
• Ask about how they handle illness, medicine, allergies, expressed milk and daily updates to parents.
• Check inspection reports or licensing where they exist, such as Ofsted in England, Tusla in Ireland, state or provincial licensing in the US and Canada, and the national quality framework in Australia.
• Look at hygiene, security and the outdoor space.
• Trust your instincts. If a place does not feel right, keep looking.

Making the transition easier

• Arrange settling-in sessions before your first day, starting with short visits and building up.
• If your baby will take a bottle or cup, introduce it a couple of weeks early, with someone other than you offering it.
• If you are breastfeeding, plan how you will express and store milk, or whether you will combine breastfeeding with formula. Our guide to expressing and storing breast milk has the details.
• Try a trial run of your morning routine, including the journey to childcare and work.
• Consider starting midweek so your first week back is short.
• Prepare clothes, bags and packed lunches the night before.
• Share home tasks and childcare fairly with your partner, and agree who will take time off when your child is sick.

What to expect with your baby

Babies often protest at separation, particularly at some stages between about eight and fourteen months, and this is a normal part of attachment. Most settle within minutes of you leaving. New daycare children also tend to catch more colds in the first months, so have a back-up plan for sick days. Ask the childcare provider about their exclusion rules for illness.

Look after yourself

• Give yourself time to adjust. It is normal to feel guilt or sadness, and equally normal to enjoy being back. Both can be true at once.
• Be realistic about the first few weeks. Sleep is often short, and the work-and-home juggle takes time to settle.
• Keep your own needs in mind: regular meals, water, movement and some time that is just for you.
• Stay connected to other parents, in person or online. You are not the only one finding it hard.
• Ask your employer about support, such as flexible hours, a phased return or working from home for part of the week.

If low mood, anxiety or tearfulness are not easing after a few weeks, or you feel overwhelmed, talk to your doctor. Our guide to baby blues and postnatal depression explains the signs and the help that is available.

This content is for general information only and is not medical advice. Every pregnancy and every baby is different. Always talk to your doctor, midwife or paediatrician about your own situation, and seek urgent care if you are worried.