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Home › Articles › Career › Back to Work

Back to Work

Returning After Maternity Leave

By Tina Hardy

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llock, a commercial real estate paralegal and mother of two from Cary, N.C. "With the economy the way it is, I couldn't handle the stress of not working and knowing that my husband could lose his job and we would have no income. I maintained my employment and kept my skills current."

Research suggests that the higher the potential earnings of women, the more likely they are to work, and the higher the husbands' earnings, the less likely they are to work, according to an article by the RAND Population Research Center titled "'Time Out' for New Mothers: Some Issues for Maternity-Leave Policy." Thus, with the increase in opportunities for women in the workplace comes an increase in women returning to work after maternity leave.

"During the late 1980s, almost 40 percent of new mothers were employed during their children's first year," according to the article. Studies show that the number of children at home also has an impact on whether a woman decides to return to work. According to the article, women who have had an additional child are less likely to return to work. It goes on to state that "women are less likely to work during their pregnancy with increasing numbers of children," and thus, less likely to return to work.

Although many women do not find returning to work particularly difficult, some jump at the chance to stay home if the opportunity arises. "While we did not have a real problem with my returning to work, we were thrilled that I was able to stay at home," says Renita Davis, a freelance public relations professional and mother of two from Murfreesboro, Tenn. Davis returned to work 12 weeks after the adoption of her first daughter, but was able to work at ho

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