So I decided to look into it and in fact there have been decades of studies that show that being a good mother has nothing to do with whether you work. That is because working in and of itself doesn't affect how you treat your child, and it is how you treat your child that matters. In the end, not surprisingly, a child does best if her mother is happy. It turns out that a mother's education level and family income are also predictors of a child's well-being. Experts believe this is because an educated mother is going to have a more sophisticated vocabulary to talk to her child, and will provide a more stimulating environment.
Poverty is the factor that puts children most at risk.
Now, this doesn't mean you cannot overcome an impoverished environment or lack of education and raise healthy, intelligent, and emotionally stable kids, it is just a lot harder if you face these disadvantages. So the research doesn't support all the scary things people say about the children of working mothers. It's a very different thing, however, if you have lousy childcare. I'm not saying you can just stroll off to work and leave your child with whoever happens to be available. And if you are miserable in your job, if you hate going off to work every day, than that isn't good for you or your child.