I recently returned to the office after being out on maternity leave for six months. I can tell you, it was not a six-month holiday; rather, it was the most challenging time of my life. It was impossible to anticipate the difficulty of switching gears from being a full-time attorney to being a first-time parent.
I am fortunate I was able to take so much time off of work, but many women are only able to take off the 12 weeks that are protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and financial realities leave a large number of women able to take off only a couple of weeks.
