Returning to work after maternity leave: A longitudinal study exploring changes in postpartum work resumption stress and its determinants

Although the return to work after maternity leave is a crucial juncture in a woman’s personal and working life, many aspects of this experience, such as maternal postpartum work resumption stress (PWRS), remain under-studied. This preregistered, longitudinal online prospective study of a convenience sample examined changes in, and determinants of, maternal PWRS during the return-to-work transition. Self-reported questionnaire data were collected from 271 mothers of infants at six time points, from two weeks before re-entry to six months afterward. Mothers reported the highest levels of PWRS at the start of the transition, followed by a linear decline over the subsequent six months. Analyses of the three sub-domains of PWRS showed that, while mothers tended to express fewer child-related concerns and reported increasing enrichment from returning to work over time, they continued to struggle with work–life balance. PWRS was associated with mothers’ psychological capital, recovery from giving birth, length of maternity leave, working hours, infant negative affectivity, and workplace support. Near-environment support and workplace flexibility, however, were not associated with PWRS. While replication of our findings is needed, they encourage further research incorporating samples from diverse backgrounds to ultimately identify optimal ways to support mothers as they rejoin the workforce postpartum. The data for this study were taken from the larger longitudinal study ‘Weer Op Werk (WOW) [Back At Work]’, investigating maternal well-being and experiences when returning to work postpartum in the Netherlands. The data collection took place from December 2022 to June 2024. After the enrolment, mothers were asked to complete online surveys at six time points: two weeks before re-entry (T-1), at re-entry (T0), and two weeks (T1), six weeks (T2), three months (T3), and six months after re-entry (T4). Mothers who provided their postal address received a small incentive for continuing research participation three times during the data collection. This collection contains: 1) A CODEBOOK (in .xlsx format) listing all variables used in the current study for each time point; 2) The SYNTAX (in .R format) used to analyse the data; 3) PROCESSED DATA (in .csv format) for each time point (SignUp, T-1, T0, T1, T2, T3, T4) on which the study conclusions are based; and 4) The CONSENT FORM (in .pdf format) used in the study.