by MIA FREEDMAN
The first time I was pregnant, I very confidently told my boss how much maternity leave I would be taking. “I’ll only need, like four weeks max,” I announced. “And I’ll work throughout that time. I’ll come into the office for meetings and the staff can come to my place and you won’t even know that I’m gone.”
She laughed. That’s because she had had actual children and knew I was talking absolute bollocks.
While giving me a warm, congratulations hug, she insisted I’d be taking four months off. At least.
I agreed. Reluctantly. I’d never been left alone with a baby before but how hard could it be? They just ate and slept, right? It’s not like they needed exercise or anything. At least I didn’t think they did.
What would I DO with all that spare time if I wasn’t back at work?
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Because then I had the actual baby.
Welcome to reality. Because suddenly, my days suddenly seemed to have only about 2 hours in them in which I had to do 10000 baby-related things (unlike the nights which seemed to stretch cruelly for 22 hours in which I was woken every hour or so FOREVER).
Marissa Mayer is the CEO of Yahoo and at 7 months pregnant, she’s about to have that same reality hit her too.
Marissa has told Fortune magazine that she’ll be back at work in a fortnight after the birth:
Marissa, as photographed for Glamour magazine in 2009
Mayer… expects it [her maternity leave] to be speedy. “I like to stay in the rhythm of things,” she says, referring to the CEO job that she is starting tomorrow. “My maternity leave will be a few weeks long and I’ll work throughout it….”
Mayer first disclosed to the Yahoo board that she is pregnant in late June, in a meeting with Michael Wolf, a member of the board’s four-person CEO search committee. A meeting with the search committee followed, and then Mayer met with the full board last Wednesday.
None of the Yahoo directors, she says, revealed any concern about hiring a pregnant chief executive. “They showed their evolved thinking,” says Mayer, who got the phone call last Thursday that she was the board’s choice to be CEO.
It’s good to hear that Yahoo have been supportive of Marissa (as they should be). I hope they continue to be because – as most mum can attest, your expectations rarely match reality when you’re a new mum.
4 months after my first son was born my terrific boss sniffed that I was getting cold feet about coming back to work and suggested I work part-time for a few months longer.
And that was lucky because I hadn’t factored in was how much I’d be in LOVE with the little guy. How much I’d just want to spend hours gazing at his teeny tiny face.
When I had my baby, I wasn’t forced back to work sooner than I wanted to by financial pressure. As a former CEO, I suspect Mayer will also have the choice to return to work – financial necessity won’t be a factor for her as it is for far too many new mums in the US (and here at home).
Because as Forbes.com reports, the United States aren’t exactly leading the world when it comes to paid maternity leave:
Working women are granted 12 weeks’ unpaid time off to care for a newborn or adopted child, with the guarantee of the same job when they return.
To qualify, they must have been employed for at least 12 months at the same firm before the time off and have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours during the same period.
The statistics are revealing. A 2008 report from the Families and Work Institute indicated that 16% of companies with at least 100 employees provide full pay during maternity leave.
This is down from 27% in 1998. Even for those who get some compensation during maternity leave, the norm for most women tends to be a patchwork of unused sick or vacation days.
And since the majority of women can’t afford not to work for a full three months, they also tend to return to work sooner than the law dictates. Perhaps that’s why in May 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 55% of first-time mothers were working six months after giving birth.
How soon did you go back to work after giving birth? Did you end up taking more time off than you’d planned?
Comments
301 Comments so far
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Sucks to be having to take leave in America. There are so many things America could change that would actualy help their economy. Im ever thankful for being a New Zealander. Some things suck here too but at least we get 14 weeks PAID parental leave if youve been in a job 12 plus months plus free maternity care during the pregnancy. labour, birth and 6weeks follwup care. Then you get put onto plunket (free also) till they are 4 hich provides a range of health services to babies and young children.
I worked up till 4 weeks with first child ( thou i was planning on 2wks, my boss laughed and said we will see!) I went back to work after 3 months expressing and having mum babysit. Lucky for me it was afternoon work. I too thought oh it will be easy to go back to work. Wrong!
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my job offered no paid maternity leave and I was told there was no option for me to return part time so I had no choice but to become a full time stay at home mum – so we don’t have a new car and I’m not wearing designer clothes but seeing my daughter’s every single moment is worth more than anything a wage could give me
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good share!!keep go on!!!nice post!!
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I went back to work full time 4 days after my son was born and 2 weeks after my daughter, I wish I knew I could afford more time off, once my son was 3.5 and my daughter 1 I had a huge nervous/stress breakdown due to overworking.
I wish all Australian companies offered SOME paid maternity leave
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I thank my stars every day for my supportive workplace! My place of work offers a years paid maternity leave (3 months at full pay and 9 months at 60% pay) and after that I could choose how many days I worked on my return (started at 2 days, now 3 days). I love my workplace, workmates and boss so, while my job isn’t a high flying career position, it’s perfect for me and my little family. My partner only works 4 days a week so is it’s daddy/daughter day every Friday. I’m a very lucky lady….
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quite frankly, why is she bothering to have a child?
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She was first contacted about taking on the role when she was more than 6 months pregnant. Would you support her if she had a late-term abortion to accept the job?
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Please follow this story up after Marissa has her baby…..I am intrigued…..I think she will be to in love with her little bundle to go back after 2 weeks….keep me posted…xoxo
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That’s great for Marissa if thats what she wants to do. But to be honest I dont think its a very compassionate way to treat a new baby. Puppies arent even allowed to be taken from their mothers until they’re 6 weeks old.
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I am the mother of a beautiful three-month-old boy and I can say I took exactly two weeks off work. I had dozens of people tell me this was unrealistic and would never happen while I was pregnant, but I had no problems making this a reality.
I own my own business and I work from home, so I think I get the best of both worlds – I can spend quality time with my son and still have my career I love. I highly recommend it to those who are able.
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Leci, I’m in the same boat – I run my business from home (just me, sole trader), with my second due in Dec. Any tips?
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I still couldn’t sit down properly 2 weeks after having my first baby!
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I hope she’s using a surrogate for the pregnancy, otherwise she’s mad to do this to herself, let alone to the baby!
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If she doesn’t have hired help, it might be she’s got super-supportive parents and a husband who has a pretty flexible work schedule, or a stay-at-home-husband, or lives extremely close to extended family…
My sister never wanted kids and so I think it was quite the compromise with her photographer husband to have my gorgeous little nephew. Sis is an absolute driven workaholic and by the end of her maternity leave, she was itching to get back to full-time work. I guess many people change their minds about maternity leave, but there are some who don’t.
To any of you about to do some naysaying, this does not weaken her mothering skills. Their family time is no different than that of other families. She’s lucky to have those stars align and take advantage of it. My mum and dad babysit my nephew 4 days a week, so we extended family people get to see him grow up, at least for a little while.
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(Mind you, I still think 2 weeks is nowhere near enough!)
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I had only been in my new job that I totally loved for 3 months when I fell pregnant after 12 months of trying. I went back around the right time for me – it was after 4 or 5 months and I went back just 2 days/week. WIth our second son I said I was only taking 4 months off again but wasnt ready at that time and ended up taking another 2 months off and going back part time.
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To each their own. Good luck to her. I had my first baby nearly 7 years ago, and have had another 2 little crazies since, and have not made it back to my old job as yet (I’m still on unpaid family leave). I’ve done some sessional online teaching (all from home, in the evenings, pays beautifully!), but I’m just not comfortable using childcare for my children, the thought of it creates a great deal of anxiety for me. But that’s me. Everyone is different. Well done to all parents for managing as best they can and doing what is right for themselves and their families.
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I loved my job, had excellent career prospects & had envisaged the perfect balance of working/parenting while pregnant with my first son. I was definitely career oriented & while I wanted children, didn’t (and still don’t) consider myself particularly maternal. I planned on 12 months leave, took 14 months, returned to work & resigned 3 months later to be a stay a home mum.
Each to their own, (and I take my hat off to working parents) but working and my career became the lowest priority in my life. The desire & need to be with my son & raise him without using child care was so overwhelming that I used to drive home from work every night lamenting the loss of another day where I missed something else new that he’d learned. I’ve since had another baby & can say in all honesty, the decision to resign from my job was the best thing I could have done for my family.
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I decided when I was pregnant with twins that I would do some study while I was on maternity leave. I fully intended to take all maternity leave available to me (12 months) and also complete some work related things so I could be of more value when I returned to work. That was 3 years ago, and it’s still not done. Not even half. Not even one unit if I must be honest!! The best laid plans and all that….a first time mum will never know until bubs arrives the all consuming nature of parenting a new born, and no amount of nagging or dictating will change that. I work with a girl who had 12 weeks, and she regrets every day that she didn’t have more. But she couldn’t be told. Just like this lady won’t know, and may regret it. But it’s HER choice, and she’s doing what she thinks is best. That’s all she can do.
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Gee Whiz. You wonder if we are turning into a nation of wuus bags. Females and men got the vote at Federation because everyone worked as hard as each other to get by. Now look at you. It takes you 3 MONTHS or more before you are productive again. No other animal on the planet does that including the vast majority of human females. Only Western females who have plentiful food and clean water plus all the labour saving devices anyone could dream of and you still can’t cope. I would have to agree. Wuus bags the lot of you.
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You know human babies are born far less advanced than many other mammals so require much more care? They also have great big heads that make birth more difficult than for most other mammals.
Most of the non-Western females you mention would be surrounded by family to help with everything, including breastfeeding. We make take longer to recover but we are also often doing all of it without any help. I don’t think we are ‘wuss bags’. I also think many of those non-Western women are probably really suffering in the early weeks and months and are only doing what they do because they truly have no choice.
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So how come this only effects Western wealthy females while another 2 BILLION females world wide and for 3.5 million years previously, females were back up and at em in a couple of days trying to find food for their babies just like the father except a whole lot less dangerous (a broken leg in a hunt meant death. No hospitals or doctors or pain killers then). I also note that the Governor of QLD was infuriated when she was told to take 3 months off because she had a baby. She can do it but poor widdle females like you can’t.
“they truly have no choice”. You’re kidding me right? You could give the child to the father couldn’t you? Or do you believe that fathers are incompetent to look after their children? You could go back to work straight away. You can breast feed a baby anywhere – parliaments, restaurants etc. You can take your child to work and take whatever breastfeeding time you like.
How long does it take to mature and how huge are babies born to elephants, whales, dolphins, cattle, horses, lions, giraffe etc etc. Better think of a better excuse than that one.
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3 months until we are productive again??? Are you serious! Every single mother I know was up and actively looking after her child within minutes of giving birth (c-section of not). Or is it that you just don’t think looking after a child as “being productive”. Oh yes we lie around doing nothing for 3 months. We don’t cook, clean, breastfeed, bottle feed, grocery shop and otherwise do everying a Non-western woman would do on a day to day basis to look after our children and our family. You just don’t think of it as being productive because we are not getting paid to do it?
Who is going to look after my child if I go back to work….my husband? He earns more than I do? My ageing mother….she is in another country? Childcare….right I’ll put my one year old in childcare for 10 hours a day 5 days a week and pay through the nose for the privilege. If this woman has the resources and support to go back to work after 2 weeks then good for her. I don’t so I’m not going to.
Oh and next time I see an elephant, whale, dolphin, cow, horse, lion etc. returning from maternity leave to become a CEO, doctor, nurse or politician I’ll be asking it how it manages to juggle the work/family balance.
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Elephants, whales, dolphins, cattle, horses and giraffes will spend all day with their babies and do nothing much else except eat. Lions, I don’t know, I guess they have to be up and hunting straight away. But again, they have a much easier birth experience.
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Look at you, you’ve gone off on a rant that makes no sense. I said some women who work are probably doing it because they ‘truly have no choice’.
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Intended to be humourous, right?
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I am very lucky to be on full pay after nearly a year of maternity leave, I was very lucky be have both goverment and paid maternity as well as a lot of long service leave. As an Early Childhood Teacher I am lucky that when i choose to return I can take my baby to work with me. I am able to take two years off but have started to work a day every now and then as I love teaching and bub gets to spend the day with his nan.
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She’s probably going to return towork because she can afford a full time nanny, perhaps even live in help. Most of us don’t have that luxury because we simply can’t afford it.
I’ve heard lots of women tell me that they’ll be back at work in a few weeks, I just nod and smile.
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I’m currently on maternity leave for almost twelve months and know I am very lucky to have this opportunity and be at a point in my career where it isn’t an issue. I intend to return to work full time rather then part-time as I feel this will make
My parents returned to work early due to financial needs and both worked full time but I remember them always being available when I needed them and loving my childcarer like family.
Truthfully Marissa is being realistic about what is expected of her in the role as CEO. I’m sure it will be difficult, but women can achieve amazing things when they set their mind to it. As long as she finds time to have quality one-on-one time with her child that’s the key.
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it is shocking how far behind the USA is in terms of maternity leave and rights… I am always in dismay and shock at how many of my US friends ‘have’ to return to work at 2-6 weeks after the birth of their baby – the body has barely recovered by then!! let alone how detrimental this is to breastfeeding (yet i marvel at how many are back at work 4 wks post partum and pumping all through their work day – amazing!!). i cannot even fathom this!!
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I suspect Marisa will have a very supportive network around her to enable her to be able to do this. And awesome yahoo hired a pregnant woman as CEO – obviously she was the best person for the job.
I took 10mo off with first child (and hubby took the next 5, he started childcare at 15mo). He came out of childcare at 20mo when second child was born and I took 13mo. We then hired a nanny to look after the two children. Very expensive, but very worth it (I was working 4 days/week). I then took 17mo with third child, and he has been in care 2-3 days/week (its varied as my career has changed) since he was 17mo.
We don’t have family living around us so any care arrangements we’ve had (long-term or casual) have been bought (eg childcare, babysitting etc). I think has lead us to be a close-knit family, which in turn will hopefully be strong protective mechanisms for the children when they are teenagers and going through all those angsty teenage years!
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Maybe it’ll work for her. Isn’t this site always preaching that we shouldn’t judge other mothers? Good for her.
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If you have LOTS of help, like lots of people to do everything for you than it would’ve easier but still, people have longer holidays! I know she thinks she is super important but come on 6 months maybe!? Even my hubby takes 6 weeks off and he thinks the place will fall own without him!
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I guess if your husband had just started a new job (as CEO – pretty big role) he might find it difficult taking time off.
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Let’s ask Marissa Mayer’s children in ten years whether she was around much.
Mia wrote an article the other day about how we are becoming ‘wusses’. I think it applies to today’s mothers too. So many women go back to work because they are bored at home and claim it makes them a better mother. According to who…their children?? Boo hoo if you’re bored, motherhood is boring sometimes. But your child needs you be to fully engaged, it’s no longer all about you. What is best for your child should be the only consideration before having a child and from then on. Or just don’t have them if you are not willing to make dramatic sacrifices!
I personally know several teenagers who are now going off the rails and their parents have no clue about why. It’s no surprise they are the children of parents who were never there, physically or mentally and emotionally as they were distracted by busy careers. How could they know their child? I know how much time and effort it takes me as a full-time Mum to work out what is going on with my small kids, I can’t imagine how I would know if I wasn’t there all the time. And I don’t agree that this is judgemental of working mothers though it is always they who cry “judgement!”. It is just a word in defence of the children, who never seem to get a look in in these arguments. Children should come first, ego second.
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I returned to work when my daughter was 12 weeks old (because we couldn’t survive on one income). She was in full time childcare until she started school. She is the most amazing, down-to-earth, friendly social child you could ever wish to meet. Don’t be so quick to judge
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Very well said!
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My mother went back to work shortly after the birth of each of her three children, and I don’t think that had anything to do with her putting her ego before her children. I have no complaints, and I’m proud that she has successfully balanced raising a happy family with her successful career.
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agreed!
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Everything you said Jash.
My 14yo is mixing with kids exactly as you described. Kids we have known since they were 3 and kids whose parents have been really busy at work their whole lives. Their parents seriously cant understand what has gone wrong, but its pretty clear to the rest of us.
This is not judgement, this is an observation of families not coping with modern life.
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I think it takes a village to raise children, so rather than ‘observing’ from the sidelines, maybe offer some support to these children, and their parents.
I’m sure their parents did what they thought was best at the time.
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Sorry Kate, my husband doesnt work to subsidise another famiies choices. We made a choice to live within our means on one income to benefit our kids…they choose to manage 2 demadning professional careers and travel overseas often and drive expensive cars and that means their kids are alone for hours daily. Thats their choice. Why should their family benefit from my families sacrifice when there is none going on in their home?
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1. My husband and I pay shedloads of tax to support the choices of those who “live within their means on one income”, so why can’t it work the other way too?
2. Our “village” includes my kids’ wonderful carers, and, with all our family interstate, it means their village is much bigger (and in my view, socially healthier) than being cooped up at home with Mummy day in, day out.
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And my husband pays sheloads of tax to support your choices too….cuts both ways. And, if truth be known, not all single income families actually qualify for support.
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But that’s precisely my point. It DOES cut both ways. Ah, if only we could choose for our income taxes to be spent on our favourite things…
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Doesnt change the fact that we know kids running wild while their parents fulfill their career needs.
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When I was pregnant with my first child we made the decision that I would go back to work full time when my daughter was 6 weeks old and my husband would give up work to be a full time stay at home dad which he did until our daughter was 4 years old.
All this article says is that she is going back to work after 2 weeks it does not go into detail about the childcare arrangements she has chosen and therefore the father could be taking time off or other family members like grandparents taking on the care.
Why are women so judgemental about others choices? I had people come up to me when I went back to work saying that I had neglected my daughter while immediately praising my husband for being a modern thinking man who would stay at home.
We all make the decisions that are the best for OUR OWN families and should not have to justify those decisions to other people. We have no real idea from the article about her personal situation.
Surely we have evolved far enough to understand that a woman can have a career and also be a good mother even when the baby is young. Why does it always have to be a baby or career choice?
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Great comment Kath. Ditto to all the above (I just can’t phrase it that well!)
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Crikey. Two weeks after giving birth for the first time, I couldn’t even sit down properly on the couch, let alone an office chair…
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Good thing she’s got a fit ball then
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Nah, a fitball won’t cut it – you need one of those inflatable rings so that you stitched-up parts don’t actually come in contact with your seat
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how true
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Lets remember she’s worth $300 million bucks already and she’s now CEO of a massive company with a salary of several million I’m sure. She’ll probably have a whole nursery set up next to her office with a couple of nannies – the baby will probably have it’s own PA. I don’t think any of the normal stay at home vs back to work arguments apply here.
And people talk about “having it all” – there’s no such thing, there are ALWAYS compromises. You can’t be in two places at once.
(a part time, working from home mum of two kids – now that’s compromise!)
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Good luck to her. I hope that she has some great help (family included).
Let’s try not to judge her as a mother or a working woman. Every woman has the right to choose the path her life might take.
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I don’t think it makes her a bad mother, I think its sad if a mother has to rush back to work that quick after having a baby. They are only that little for such a short time, why not give yourself the time to enjoy it (or survive it). I’m not against working mums, I am one, but I just think you need to give yourself and your baby some special time. Work has had its time.
Apart from financial necessity to return to work, I don’t understand why you would want to not be there with your baby so soon after its born. I think its a very important time for mother and baby.
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I say good on her! If going back to work is going to make her happy and therefore a better mother then she is making the right choice for her family! Stop with all the judgement! Not every woman dreams of being a stay-at-home mum – each to their own! (And I bet she spends her spare time doing more productive things rather than bitching on websites like this!)
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Whatever happened to women sticking together and supporting each other in their successes? Seriously, I’m disgusted by the lack of solidarity and judgment against other women on this website. One minute it’s “girl power” and the next it’s “what a bad mother”. Get a grip Mammamia, and stop facilitating all this trashing and bitchiness.
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Hi Sophie, women are allowed to disagree with each other and express their opinions. That’s one of the reasons I started Mamamia.
No need to be threatened by a vigorous debate.
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A vigorous debate is one thing, but not moderating downright abusive and aggressive comments is another. Reading the response today to Kate Powers’ piece “My daughter is more beautiful than me.”was nothing short of disgusting.
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Shock horror the mother goes back to work 2 week after having baby!
For all we know they have decided the father will be a stay at home dad.
I say good on her!
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2 weeks!! Really even if she has a dream birth and a baby that sleeps her body is still going to be in major recovery mode. I don’t judge anyone for the choices that they make in regards to maternity leave, but 2 weeks is really unrealistic that time will be gone before she even blinks.
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At least she’s being honest – tell me Beyonce, Angelina, Madonna or any of the other celebrities were the primary care giver to their bubs??
A nanny recently told me she spent 6 months looking after a wealthy families newborn in Europe. She said that the mums rarely spent time with the baby and in fact went a full week without laying eyes on her. I’m sure she would deny that at the tennis club!
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Wow, so much judging.
When I had my first, I intended to take 12 months off. Little did I realise how deeply and profoundly that would affect me. I worked full time up until the day he was born (a few weeks early), as a very big fish in a very small pond. I loved my job and the mental stimulation.
Sitting at home on the couch with a baby, bored out of my brain, I was going out of my mind. Used to working 60 hour weeks and juggling huge projects, being a mum was a walk in the park (which we did several times every day). The house was spotless, the baby perfect, dinner on the table etc. I even ironed the tea towels and baby wraps ffs.
I got so depressed my doctor suggested I contact my work. At 7 weeks, I started working from home – a few emails here and there, a phone call now and then, just helping the team out. HALLELUJAH. I bonded with my baby and started to love love love being a mum. I started to go in for important meetings and take on projects from home. At 4 months I went back two days per week and never looked back.
Not everyone is the same. I had a really easy labour and recovered instantly. My baby was a dream. My husband was supportive and helpful. And I really really really missed my job.
According to most of the posters below, my actions make me a really bad mother. Would I be a better mother for letting myself become seriously depressed and miserable? I breast fed him up to 12 months (miraculous things, breast pumps), and when I’m with him, no one could call me a bad mum. On the two days I work, he’s in high quality care (lucky again) and benefits from having a happy and balanced mother.
Quick, better call child services.
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You sound like a great Mum and also someone who is managing to juggle it all. Good on you girl!!
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i think its great that you have managed to find such a great balance and you obviously have a great job! What is not so great is those of us who have been working for 3 years part time in the public sector on contracts and now can’t get maternity leave because I don’t have a permanent position. Very unfair.
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That is really unfair Kym, I know I’ve been very lucky. My employer didn’t give me any paid leave either, the company was too small. And now I work for myself – when bubs #2 comes, there’ll be no leave full stop. If I don’t want to lose my client base I’ll have to keep working – a nanny seems to be my only option (there goes all my income!). On the bright side, I’m getting a lot of practice at sleepless nights!
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You don’t have to be a permanent employee yo fain access to maternity/parental leave. Casual, temporary and contract workers are entitled to up to 12 months unpaid may leave (if they have been working regularly for the one employer for more than 12 months), and some are also entitled to 18 weeks paid parental leave. If you haven’t already, you should make sure you check your entitlements…maybe with Fair Work Australia or with the Human Rights and Equal Oppurtunity Commission?
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“yo fain” should, of course, be “to gain” in the above. Not sure when I turned into a mad rapper
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Thanks acanberramum. The paid parental leave scheme gets a bit tricky when you work for yourself. You are allowed to do some work to keep your business going, but I need to sit down with Centrelink to find out exactly what I can and can’t do. I am a specialist engineering consultant – finding someone who can help out casually while I’m on maternity leave unfortunately won’t be easy.
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Hi Anna – sorry, my comment was meant for Kym who seemed to be in the slightly different situation of longer term contract employment with a single employer. It does indeed get trickier when you are self-employed – I have no advice for you on that front!
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Every situation is different, every baby is different. I guess you weren’t saying before you had your little baby your going back after two weeks. Intention of 12 months was there if needed, who knows what’s going to happen when their born. 2 days a week working with an easy baby is perfect. I couldn’t function with a non stop crying machine who didn’t sleep or eat give me your baby any day Lol!!
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Spot on Anna. No you’re not a bad mother at all -your child will benefit from having a very content mum. Amazing we’re still having this conversation. Women need to support each other and the choices they make. My husband didn’t take a day off after our 4 babies were born and now they’re all grown up having children of their own. Our kids think their father is amazing and they all are well adjusted adults. Why is the job of an at home mother more important than the role of father- it doesn’t sit right with me.
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Anna you sound like a great mum! Working 2 days a week in a job you love gives you the stimulation and balance you need. However, returning to a role of CEO and performing as expected 2 weeks after giving birth is different.
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Well, I am a CEO – just of a very small company
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Good on you!!!! There should be more stories by women like you out there for all of us. I LOVE you!
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“Not everyone is the same. I had a really easy labour and recovered instantly. My baby was a dream. My husband was supportive and helpful.”
Thank you Anna for acknowledging the particular circumstances that placed you in a position to be able to make the choice to return to work so quickly.
The best advice I was given before having my baby was that you have no idea what ‘package’ you’re going to get (not just in terms of your individual baby, but also what your individual experience of giving birth and mothering will be like) and until it ‘arrives’, it’s very difficult to envisage what your new life will be like and what you will or won’t be able to manage. For this reason, I think it’s great to have a flexible attitude if you can. I’m almost 9 months into first time motherhood and there is no way on earth I am ready to return to work on any level – physically, mentally, emotionally. Luckily for me I’m in a position to remain on leave for at least another 6 months if I need it.
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It’s great to see that times have progressed and pregnant women/ mothers can have senior roles within companies. Congratulations to Yahoo for being so open minded.
Marissa must have a fantastic support network in place that will enable her to return to work so quickly – sleep deprivation is a killer.
I wonder however; if somewhere down the line she will wished she had taken more time off.
I am a first time mum and am due to return to work in a few months. I never thought I would take my full 12 months off because like most women I thought I would get bored. But life has been anything but boring as I am learning every day through my baby. It’s also enabled me to reassess my what I want out of my career.
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Poor unfortunate child.
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I absolutely respect any woman’s right to choose at which stage of her baby’s life she returns to work. There’s so many different scenarios and personal situations out there. I am in awe of anyone that can even get their head around work in the first few months of their baby’s life – personally I was so entrenched in baby-world I didn’t give a toss about work!
It was therefore just as well that I always planned (even in my mind before my first pregnancy) that I would give my babies at least two years at home with me. This meant not taking maternity leave but resigning from work each time.
Interestingly, I often had people saying to me ‘you’re so lucky you can stay home with your baby for this long’… luck?? No, a personal choice. Just like it’s a personal choice to go back to work straight away. It wasn’t without sacrifices either, it meant we delayed purchasing our first home and couldn’t afford holidays or a new car etc.
I’m happy with my choice but respect the choices of others to return much earlier.
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I didn’t expect the love I’d have for my babies to be so primeval – from the first moment my voice soothed them when they were put on my chest. The thought of being separated when they’re that little, even for a few hours, was like taking a cub away from a mama bear, not natural.
Even if Marissa outsources all parental and household tasks nothing can control those powerful, hormonal, initial feelings. It’s gonna be tough for her.
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Oh bless.
I *LOVE* that she was offered the role pregnant. I think thats HUGE – sad that I think that but what a triumph.
Lets follows up after the birth and see if she really does take only a fortnight. I’m with Mia – you don’t realise how muich you just love that tlittle tacker!!
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ffs why have a baby?
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Yes Mel, you’re right. How dare she want both a child and a career….
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How can you deny the basic biological needs of newborns, though?
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It’s not about her wanting a career. It’s about not being able to put someone else’s needs in front of her own for longer than 2 weeks even though she has made the choice ( yes choice ,every working mothers favourite word including my own) to have a baby. A baby not a puppy … a BABY.
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I’m with you Mel. Why? Just so she’s ‘done it all’? I don’t care if people want a career as well (I’m going back when my youngest is 12 months), but why not just give it a bit longer?
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As a young woman in the 70′s we fought hard for equal rights and that includes returning to work without feeling guilt about doing so- let’s face it this wouldn’t be a story if he was a male becoming a father for the first time. As a mother of 4 I know babies are hard work and so is every stage of a child’s development. I reckon I was more busy when they were teenagers- sport and music, social dropoffs and pickups etc etc. Like Mia I managed to stay at home with my babies but I did 2 degrees in that time that led to a fulfilling career. I have 6 grandchildren, 2 of the 3 mums returned to work after maternity leave and one is home full time . All of them are happy well adjusted toddlers and babies. The reality it this CEO will have every support that money can buy and if she chooses to return to work let’s all support her.
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Thanks for all the work you put in in Wendy so that I can have so many choices.
I often think of you all and hope we are doing all the work you put in justice!
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I remember a woman I used to work with returning to work super quickly because she didnt want to have to resort buying her clothes from Target. I really hope she didnt share that with her children when they got older.
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As horrible and shallow as it sounds, i think if going back to work even just a few days means you can buy your kids nice things and not have a constant struggle I think this is a good thing.
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I read that as she was taking two weeks off for some sort f fortnight-long labour/birthing process and was extremely confused!
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I say each to their own. Marissa is obviously a well educated and smart woman and she is doing what she feels is best for her situation. We don’t know enough details to judge any further. And kudos to Yahoo for selecting her with the knowledge that she was expecting, that glass ceiling is getting higher!
For me, I’m half way through my first pregnancy and am fortunate enough to work for a company that offer 3 months paid maternity and will hold my job for 2 years. I intend to take 12 months off and then return one or two days a week. This is what my husband and I feel comfortable with at the moment! I am fully aware that our situation could change between now and then, who knows I could be keen to go back part time after 6 months, or drag it out to the full two years OR even resign in the end as I’m loving being at home. It all depends on the individual and their situation which takes into account finances and support network. I just feel grateful that I have options. And also grateful that we have a paid maternity government scheme to help out as well.
Best of luck Marissa and her family, you’re an amazing woman.
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2 weeks , WOW, what a loving mother, not. Seriously why have the baby at all. Lets not justify this is ok because it isnt. Poor child.
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Wait. So you have children for the time off? Poor child.
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Being a full time mother is definitely not time off!!!!
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Do you say the same about fathers going back to work after 2 weeks (or not taking any time at all)?
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HA HA HA HA HA!
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I applaud Yahoo for supporting a new Mum-to-be. That’s what a new Mum needs – support; from work, from home, from friends.
There is no way to tell before the birth what sort of a baby you are going to have, and how one will handle life as a new mum.
If it doesn’t work out for her as CEO, it doesn’t work out. Only Mayer and hubby can make the decision about how they want to raise their family and how to juggle work commitments and a new family.
No matter what position one is in – it can be a very difficult for a family to balance work/family life without support. Surely all families go through that at some stage in life.
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