Working Mumma

Missing your baby at work?

Feeling like your heart is in two places at once?

You’re not alone, and more importantly, there is nothing wrong with you.

In this episode, Carina talk's about one of the most common (yet rarely spoken about) parts of returning to work after maternity leave: that quiet ache of missing your baby, the constant mental juggling, and the guilt that seems to follow you everywhere.

If you’ve ever sat at your desk wondering how your baby is doing, felt distracted in meetings, or questioned whether you made the right decision going back to work, this conversation is for you.

You’ll learn:

Why missing your baby at work is completely normal (and actually a good sign)

What’s really happening during this transition into working motherhood

Why the guilt and overwhelm peak early, and how it gets easier over time

How to gently navigate the emotional stretch of being in “two worlds”

Practical, real-world strategies to feel more present, at work and at home, without adding to your mental load

This episode is not about “fixing” how you feel; it’s about helping you understand it, permit yourself to experience it, and find your rhythm again.

Because you’re not failing, you’re adjusting to one of the biggest transitions of your life.

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Since going back to work after maternity leave, has anyone - a manager, a colleague, a well-meaning relative - implied that you've changed? That you're not quite as driven as you used to be? Maybe your focus has shifted?

Because here's the truth: you haven't changed. Not in the way they think. Your ambition is still there, it's just evolved into something sharper, more purposeful, and more powerful than it's ever been. The problem isn't you. The world around you just hasn't caught up yet.

This week on Working Mumma, I'm sitting down with Kat Francis, a Melbourne-based leadership coach for ambitious women, keynote speaker. Kat spent two decades climbing through creative agencies to Managing Director level, then walked away from equity and ownership to build a career that actually aligned with who she'd become.

This conversation is honest, validating, and deeply practical. Whether you're fresh back from mat leave or a few years in and wondering why your career still feels like it's running in slow motion, this one is for you.

In this episode we cover:

The LinkedIn post about ambition after motherhood and why it struck such a raw nerve with Australian working mums

Kat's own pivot: walking away from an MD role with equity on the table, and what that decision revealed about values, identity and what we actually want from work

The data from The Ambition Report that's hard to hear - only 16% of mums were promoted after returning from mat leave, and only 23% received a pay rise

Why your ambition didn't disappear after kids, it got sharper, and why that gets misread as "less committed"

The settling trap: how so many women come back from maternity leave and quietly accept a role that's comfortable but hollow and how to stop

How to advocate for yourself with outdated managers without burning bridges or losing your composure

The motherhood penalty vs the fatherhood bonus, what it actually looks like in Australian workplaces right now

How to have the ambition conversation with your partner and why getting on the same page about success changes everything

Connect with Kat Francis
Website: coachkat.com.au
LinkedIn: Kat Francis

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Returning to work after parental leave is already a huge transition. But what if you're going back and you are pregnant?

This week's episode comes straight from a listener DM, and it's one of the most relatable, raw, and important questions we've ever received on the show. In this episode, host Carina O'Brien tackles the fear, the guilt, and the very real practical questions that come with going back to work while pregnant.

In this episode, I share: 

Why the guilt you're feeling is normal, and why you need to let it go

The truth about how often this actually happens (hint: more than you think)

Your legal rights under the Fair Work Act in Australia

Whether you need to re-serve 12 months to access parental leave again

When to tell your employer and why sooner may be better than later

Exactly what to say in that conversation (a word-for-word framework)

How to frame the news in a way that keeps the energy solution-focused

What to do if your manager reacts badly

 

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If you've ever returned to work after parental leave and thought, "I'm not the same person I was before I went on parental leave", you are not imagining it. And there's actually a word for what you're going through.

In this episode of the Working Mumma Podcast, I sit down with Amanda Jackson, founder of Motherhood and Matrescence and author of the book by the same name, to explore the concept of matrescence, the process of becoming a mother, and why understanding it is one of the most powerful tools a working mum can have.

In this episode we chat about:

• What matrescence is — and why you've probably never heard of it (even though the word was coined in 1973)
• The 3 stages of matrescence: separation, liminality, and integration
• Why so many women feel like they've lost themselves after having children
• The invisible load: why the work of mothering goes unseen and how that affects our identity
• What really happens to your brain when you become a mum (it's NOT "mummy brain" - it's a neurological upgrade)
• How matrescence affects your return to work and what employers and women themselves can do differently
• Parenting for the audience vs. parenting for your family: how to block out the noise
• Patressence: do dads go through it too?
• Practical rituals and reflections to help you reconnect with who you are
• The powerful questions to ask yourself (and your kids) to understand your matrescence journey

 

Connect with Amanda Jackson
Website: motherhoodandmatrescence.com
Instagram: @motherhood_and_matrescence
LinkedIn: Amanda Jackson

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When you're in the thick of the baby and toddler years, it can feel like that's the hardest it will ever be. But what nobody tells you is that the challenge doesn't disappear as your kids get older - it just changes shape.

In this solo episode, I'm getting real about a phase of working motherhood I didn't see coming: the school-age years. From navigating school hours that don't align with work hours, to managing a never-ending rotation of sports trainings, WhatsApp groups, Compass and Storypark alerts, school events, and the invisible mental load of coordinating everyone else's lives - this one's for the mums in the thick of it.

I talk about:

Why the transition from childcare to school can actually increase the mental load for working mums

The concept of cognitive labour (as described by Professor Leah Ruppanner) and why it still falls disproportionately on mothers

The hidden logistics of school-age sport, and why I wouldn't have it any other way

The beautiful moments hiding inside the chaos (yes, they're there)

A few honest things that are helping me survive this season without losing my mind

This episode isn't about complaining. It's about naming something that so many of us are quietly carrying, and reminding you that you are absolutely not alone.

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