Working Mumma

Have you recently said to yourself "I used to be really good at this before I had kids"?
Returning to work after parental leave can bring a mix of emotions. You may have years of experience behind you, but suddenly you’re questioning yourself, worrying about how others perceive you, and questioning if you can still perform at the level you did before.
And often it’s not that you’ve lost your capability, your confidence has taken a hit.
In this episode of the Working Mumma Podcast, I chat with confidence and visibility expert Bec Sands about why women often hold themselves back at work, why confidence can feel particularly difficult after becoming a mum, and what you can actually do to rebuild it.
In this episode we chat about:
Returning to work after maternity leave when your confidence is already starting from zero
How Bec's IVF journey reshaped her relationship with confidence
Why "confidence comes from action," not the other way around
The truth about the 8-hour workday and debunking myths
Practical, low-time strategies for building visibility at work when you have none to spare
How to catch and reframe the limiting self-talk that's running the show
What self-efficacy actually means, and how to build it one hard thing at a time

Connect with Bec Sands
Instagram: @becsands
Website & book: cameheretocreate.com
LinkedIn: Bec Sands

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Are you dreading the morning you go back to work after parental leave more than you're letting yourself admit?
In this episode, Carina breaks down the four emotional waves that hit when you're returning to work after maternity leave. Because going back to work isn’t one single emotion, and it certainly isn’t a straight line.
If you're currently in the thick of pre-return anxiety, or you're back at work and still cycling through hard days, this one's for you.
Enjoyed this shorter episode? Send me a DM as I'd love your thoughts.

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You're back at your desk, but half your brain is still at daycare. You said yes to the meeting, forgot to eat lunch, and you're already dreading tomorrow's drop-off. If that's your version of returning to work after maternity leave, this episode is for you.
In this episode, Carina goes solo to unpack what it actually feels like to return to work after maternity leave — not just the logistics, but the identity shift, the mental load, and the quiet pressure to prove yourself all over again.
Drawing on her own two returns to work (10 months off with her first son, 13 months with her second) plus everything she's learned from guests on the show, this one's part personal story, part practical playbook.
If you're heading back to work soon, already back and wondering why it still feels hard, or supporting someone who is — this episode is for you.
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Have you ever come back from a holiday feeling like you need another holiday?
Or realised, only after you've stopped, just how exhausted you really were?
That's exactly what happened to Carina. After a busy period of balancing her corporate role, work travel, Working Mumma, two young boys and the mental load of running a household, Carina headed away for a week's holiday with her family.
Carina talks about:
The difference between taking time off and actually mentally detaching from work
What Carina noticed when her own brain finally started to quieten
The real cost of ignoring your exhaustion and the hidden dangers of running on empty
Practical strategies for practicing psychological detachment, even when you can’t take an extended break.
What chronic cortisol is doing to your brain, sleep and focus, and why it's a loop, not a one-off

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Is it possible to absolutely love being a mum... and still feel like something is missing?

For so many women, motherhood brings immense joy—but it can also bring an unexpected sense of loss. The loss of confidence, identity, ambition or simply remembering who you were before everyone needed a piece of you. In this deeply honest conversation, I sit down with author, speaker and coach Benita Bensch to talk about the parts of motherhood we don't often say out loud.

Benita shares her journey through raising four boys on the land, experiencing two significant periods of burnout she describes as "the black hole," and the long road back to reconnecting with herself. Together, we explore why so many mothers feel invisible, how our inner stories can keep us stuck, and why asking for what you need isn't selfish—it's essential. If you've ever wondered, "Who am I outside of being Mum?" this episode is for you.

In this episode we discuss:

Why it's possible to love motherhood and still crave more for yourself

Feeling invisible after becoming a mum

The identity shift that comes with motherhood

Benita's experience of burnout, anxiety and finding herself again

Why reconnecting with your creativity matters

Letting go of guilt around wanting something for yourself

The power of boundaries, self-awareness and asking for help

Practical ways to reconnect with yourself when life feels overwhelming

If this conversation resonated with you, I'd love for you to share it with another mum who needs to hear that she's not alone.

Do you feel like you have to choose between being a good mum and having a meaningful career?

Carina speaks with clinical psychologist and executive coach Dr. Anne Welsh, a mum of four who specialises in maternal mental health and works with women in leadership and working mothers navigating exactly this tension.

We talk about why the "escalation of modern motherhood" means today's mums are being asked to do more, emotionally, logistically, and professionally, than any generation before them, and why that's not a personal failing, it's a systemic shift.

Anne shares the research behind why quality time with your kids matters more than quantity, why the mental load is so much heavier than a to-do list, and a simple exercise to help you work out who you are now that you're a mother - not just who you were told to be.

If you've ever felt the ground shift under your identity after having kids, or wondered whether ambition and motherhood can actually coexist, this episode is your permission slip to stop choosing and start figuring out what you actually want.

In this episode we cover:

Why ambition and motherhood have historically been treated as opposites

The "escalation of modern motherhood" and why the mental load keeps growing

The research on quality vs. quantity of time with your kids

A simple exercise to reconnect with your identity after becoming a mum

Why naming what you want is one of the most powerful things you can do

How to give yourself permission to focus on what matters to you, not what you "should" be doing

Connect with Benita Bensch

Instagram: @benitabensch 

Website: benitabensch.com

Book: Seen Again: Light on Matrescence 

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