New Physician Moms Need More Resources and Less Guilt in the Workplace

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Hi. This is Dr Michelle O'Donoghue, reporting for Medscape. If you haven't seen me for a few months, it's because I've been out on maternity leave. Now that I'm back at work, the topic of being a working mother is what's freshest in my mind.

Women have many different reasons for returning to work after having a baby. For some, it's a financial decision, to support their families. Many of us are also quite passionate about our careers and want to continue on those journeys. Regardless of the reasons, there's one experience all working mothers share. Indeed, many men feel the same, but I believe that women in particular feel guilty about not being able to be at home full time, while at the same time struggling to meet all the demands of work.

This got me thinking about simple ways we can support working mothers within the workplace, to help alleviate some of that stress. Some of these ideas are quite simple, yet access to these options is not universal. One thing that is immensely important for new working mothers is to have places where they can pump breast milk while at work.