Returning to work after maternity or parental leave involves more moving parts than most people anticipate. This checklist covers everything from childcare logistics to your emotional wellbeing, organised by how far in advance each task needs to be done.
6–8 Weeks Before: The Big Logistics
- Confirm your return date in writing with your employer — get email confirmation and keep it
- Review your contract and any flexible working arrangements agreed — ensure everything is documented
- Confirm childcare start date and any settling-in sessions — typically 3–5 sessions before your start date
- Arrange backup childcare cover for your primary childcare’s sick days — you will need this within the first month
- If breastfeeding: tell your employer you’ll need a suitable room to express milk — in the UK, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to provide suitable rest facilities for breastfeeding workers, and this cannot be a toilet. Schedule pumping sessions into your work calendar immediately
- Purchase an electric double pump if you don’t have one — the difference in pumping time from a single to double pump is significant
- Begin introducing a bottle if your baby hasn’t had one — see bottle introduction guide
- Build a freezer milk stash if breastfeeding: aim for 20–30oz (600–900ml) as buffer for the first week back
2–4 Weeks Before: Practical Preparation
- Do a full trial run of the morning routine — wake up at return-to-work time, complete the full drop-off, time it end-to-end
- Prepare a week’s worth of work clothes — many women find their body shape has changed and clothes that fitted before may not
- Establish the morning handoff routine with your partner or childcare provider if both parents work
- Update yourself on anything you’ve missed at work — emails, team changes, project status. Do this in the week before return, not on day one
- Contact your manager to discuss your first week back — workload expectations, meetings to be excluded from initially, gradual reintegration if offered
- Arrange for someone to handle school or older child pickup logistics if these now conflict with your working hours
1 Week Before: Emotional Preparation
- Talk to your partner or support network about how you’re feeling — anxiety, relief, guilt, excitement are all normal simultaneously
- Have a plan for if you feel overwhelmed in the first week — who will you call, what will you do
- Lower your first-week expectations dramatically — surviving the first week is the goal, not performing at full capacity
- Prepare easy, fast meals for the first week back — this is not the week for elaborate cooking
- Establish a non-negotiable recovery time in the evening: even 20 minutes of quiet after the baby is down matters
On the Day
- Bring your breast pump and enough supplies for the day if expressing
- Have the childcare provider’s phone number and your own number confirmed with them
- Expect to cry at drop-off — most people do, and it gets easier significantly by week 2
- Eat lunch — this sounds obvious and many people genuinely forget it on the first day back
- Don’t check your phone every 15 minutes — your baby is fine; excessive checking increases anxiety without reducing it
Know Your Rights
- UK: You have the right to return to the same job if your leave was 26 weeks or under (Ordinary Maternity Leave), or a suitable alternative if it was longer (Additional Maternity Leave). You are protected from redundancy during maternity leave and for 18 months after birth. You have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment. Maternity discrimination is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010.
- UK — expressing milk at work: The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to provide suitable rest facilities for breastfeeding workers. This must be a private room with a lockable door — not a toilet. Your employer is not legally required to provide paid expressing breaks, but many do.
- If you are UK-based: ACAS (acas.org.uk) provides free, authoritative guidance on maternity rights. Maternity Action (maternityaction.org.uk) offers a free advice line for complex situations.
- Document everything — any treatment that feels connected to your maternity leave should be recorded in writing immediately. Note the date, what was said or done, and who was present.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it normal to feel relieved about going back to work?
Yes — and this is less discussed than it should be. Many women feel genuine relief at returning to adult conversation, professional identity, and tasks with clear completion. Feeling relief doesn’t mean you don’t love your baby. Both things are true and neither cancels the other out.
My baby is refusing the bottle — what do I do before I return to work?
Try: different bottle brands and teat types (2–3 different options before buying a set); having someone other than the breastfeeding parent offer the bottle; offering when baby is calm but not frantically hungry; different positions. If returning to work is imminent and the bottle is still being refused, a sippy cup or open cup can be used instead — babies over 6 months can take milk from a cup. Contact a lactation consultant or feeding specialist for urgent support.
Related Reading
- Going back to work after maternity leave: emotional & practical guide
- Pumping breast milk: how to build and maintain supply
- Best breast pumps 2025: hospital-grade vs portable compared
Found this helpful? Save this page and share it with anyone who needs it. Sign up to the LylyMama newsletter for more honest, practical guides every week.