What do you talk about in maternity returner coaching?

If you’ve never experienced coaching, you might be wondering: what actually happens in a session?  What do people talk about?  How does it help you return to work?

As a maternity and returner coach, I often hear from women who say they’d love some support but aren’t sure if coaching is for them.  There isn’t a checklist of what you should bring to a coaching session as every woman’s experience of returning to work after maternity leave is unique, but there are some themes that come up regularly.

Here are a few of the most common topics:

Managing the emotions of returning

Returning to work often stirs up a mix of emotions including excitement, guilt, anxiety and even grief about the end of maternity leave.  Many women talk about feeling guilty for leaving their child or worrying how colleagues will perceive them.  Others struggle with a lack of confidence and wonder if they can still perform at the level they did before.  Coaching provides a space to explore these emotions freely.

Making flexible working work in practice

You may have secured flexible or hybrid working arrangements, but the practicalities of this are often trickier than expected.  Coaching can help you develop strategies to set boundaries about your workload and availability, manage expectations and maintain career momentum.

Balancing work and home

It’s not just about work because returning parents are also adjusting to new routines at home. Who does the nursery run?  Who takes time off when your child is ill?  How do you find time for yourself?  Coaching often touches on how to share responsibilities more fairly and how to protect time for yourself as well as your family.

Navigating conversations at home and at work

Many coaching sessions focus on communication because it can be tricky to navigate the conversations that need to be had at work and at home.  These might include how to negotiate responsibilities at home, how to set boundaries at work and how to confidently say what you can (and can’t) do. These conversations can be difficult, but they’re also key to making the return to work smoother.

Clarity on what you want

Perhaps the most valuable part of coaching is creating clarity.  Many women arrive with a long list of “shoulds” about what they should want or what they should do next.  Coaching helps cut through the noise and uncover what you really want for yourself, your career and your family.

Every coaching session looks a little different, but these topics show how wide-ranging the conversations can be.  Coaching isn’t about having all the answers, but it is about creating space to think, reflect and build confidence as you navigate a significant life transition.

If you’re returning to work and wondering whether coaching could help, hopefully this gives you a clearer picture of what you might bring to a session and how it could support you.