Returning to work -- Share your story Nowadays, more than half of all mothers with infants work. And even more mothers with older babies and children are working. How did you navigate the transition? Help other new mothers by sharing your story on womenshealth.gov! Community stories My pregnancy was unplanned, and soon my life as a workaholic came to a screeching halt with the birth of my beautiful son. I have only been to work for about two months, and I am still struggling to find a balance. Most mornings it is near impossible to leave my son and head into the office, however making the choice to become a single mom I knew that I would have to return back to work soon. Even tho i work for a local government, if I had not been a workaholic with little to no social life and never went on vacation, I would not have been able to spend the 3 months home that I was able to. It is time to have a real, merit-based discussion about providing all mothers with protected PAID maternity leave. I know if I did not have my vacation days, I would have been forced to either go back to work 2 or 3 weeks after giving birth or, face the consequences of not getting any compensation or healthcare benefits during my "protected" FMLA leave. Jane from Canada October 31, 2011 1:22 p.m. I'm a 57 year old mother of 4. My "children" are now