This new mother returning to work prayer after maternity leave can help family members,  friends and co-workers offer emotional support to new mothers as they leave their babies in someone else’s care while they work. 

Statistics show that 70% of mothers with children under the age of 18 are in the workforce these days. Supporting these moms with prayer can make a huge difference.      

New Mother Returning to Work Prayer After Maternity Leave

Dear Lord, today is a huge day for ________, a new mother returning to work after the birth of her baby. How it wrenched her heart to leave her little one this morning. She wasn’t ready! She knew this day was coming, but now that it’s here, it’s even worse than she’d imagined.

For weeks, she hasn’t been separated from her baby for more than a few hours at a time. Now she will be gone all day.

She is filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Her exhaustion from lack of sleep complicates things and all those hormones floating around make her more emotional than usual.  Be with her, Lord. Calm her anxiety and fears.

She is worried she won’t be effective at work because of her low energy level and inability to focus.

She wants to be in constant touch with the baby’s caregiver to be sure everything is OK.

This working mom guilt is getting to her. What if she misses the baby’s milestones – first laugh, first word, first steps? The dual roles of mother and employee seem impossible to balance.

Reassure her, Lord, that you are in control and keeping watch over her precious child while she is away. And that You will be by her side during each workday, keeping her strong.

Hold her close today, Lord. Whisper in her ear that she will make it. She’s chosen a trusted caregiver for her baby and she has coordinated the baby’s schedule with her spouse. She’s made all the necessary arrangements and considered every contingency.

She’s done all the right things. Remind her, Lord, that she’s a great mother. Because she is!

Amen.

About this new mother returning to work prayer after maternity leave

After twelve blissful weeks of bonding with her newborn baby girl, it was time for my daughter Erin to return to work. She’d arranged for a trusted family member to keep the baby; Erin could contact her at any time.

Like many young mothers today, Erin was nursing, and her employer was understanding about accommodating her needs to maintain the method she’d chosen to feed her baby.

Erin’s husband would pick the baby up at the end of his day, and by the time Erin arrived, the baby would be home. Every item on Erin’s list had a check mark beside it. The baby would be cared for exquisitely. No worries! But how can you put a check mark next to a mother’s heart?

How fortunate I was to be able to work from home after the birth of each of my five babies! A writer can fit her work into the baby’s schedule. Most women today don’t have that luxury.

A return to the workplace after maternity leave is essential to most families. The cost of living, repayment of student loans, maintaining a home and vehicles – the expense of living in our world generally requires a two-person income.

How can I best support my precious daughter, her husband, and the new baby? I will swoop in at a moment’s notice if the caregiver is ever unable to keep the baby. I can make a meal and take it over to them, so Erin can cuddle instead of cook when she gets home.

My husband and I will keep the baby for a few hours so the parents can have a date night. I can encourage Erin to talk to me, mother-to-mother, about her stress, her anxieties, her fears. I was a new mother, too, and maybe some of the things that worked for me will work for her.

Of all the ways I can support Erin and all the other sweet mamas who must leave their babies to return to the workplace, I think prayer, CONSTANT prayer, may be the best. As I go about my day, I will pray without ceasing for mothers who must be away from their babies during the workday. How I admire these women! I trust the Lord will protect them and their babies until their joyful reunion at day’s end.

Other helpful prayers by Pat Butler Dyson

Copyright Pat Butler Dyson 2019. All rights reserved.