What Is the Best Age for a Child's Mom to Return to Work?

Physical and Emotional Readiness

• Most physicians recommend that new mothers gradually resume normal activities during the six weeks after childbirth. A 12-week pregnancy leave gives enough time for a new mother's body to heal, muscles to partially tone back up, and the baby to mature sufficiently that the whole family can perhaps get a night of uninterrupted rest. Even moms who are nursing their infants can return to work at the end of this time, but it can be emotionally difficult to leave your child with someone else.

Realistic Planning

• Planning to return to work must factor in several factors. The most important, if returning while your child is still an infant, is finding reliable child care. If the child care facility is near your workplace, you might be able to dash over and nurse your child during breaks, but most working moms who breastfeed use a pump to keep their milk supply going and to provide for their baby. If you wait until your child is weaned to re-enter the work force, and you don't have your previous position waiting for you in your workplace, you must factor in fluctuations in the job market, keeping your skills sharp and spending some time job hunting. A 2010 "Washington Post" article recounts the history of stay-at-home mom Amy Beckett as she struggles to take up her career again at age 52 after being out of the work force for 17 years.

Tough Job Market

• A "Forbes" article titled "How Stay-At-Home Moms Can Get Back To Work" points out that in a tough economy, a mother might have many reasons to go back to work. Reasons range from fathers with diminished earning power to becoming single parents either through death or divorce. Women who had planned to return to work when their children reached school age often find it difficult to re-enter the work force after being out of it for more than five years. Mothers with large families who might have found it more economically viable to stay home with the children rather than pay child care can add at least one year per child to their workplace absence.

Possible Solutions

• As a mom, it can be a tough choice when to go back to work. You can return to your old job as soon as your maternity leave is up, or deal with refreshing job skills and looking for work in a choppy job market later on. But those are not your only choices. You could use the intervening time to return to school, especially with all the online education options available today. The "Forbes" article points out that volunteering at your school or in your neighborhood can help keep your skills fresh and visible. You might be able to get a job online, work part time, or even start your own business as an alternative to more ordinary job venues.