This week I met with a woman who’s looking to return to work. She’s been out of the workforce for ten years, and she’s keen to get back in. Yet when I met with her, the main thing I heard from her was doubt. She’d lost confidence in herself. She knew logically she could do it, but deep down she didn’t believe she could.

It’s a funny feeling leaving your baby to go to work for the first time. I’ve left him before, but that felt different. I was going to a meeting, getting a haircut, buying groceries, or heading out to dinner. This is different. This morning felt like a new phase and new beginning, but also a goodbye.

Women returning to work after maternity leave are driven to output – and not only the women who return to traditional work structures, but also those who move into part time or voluntary work situations.

About four years ago, when I was 41 weeks pregnant with my second child, my phone rang. I sent it to voicemail because I didn’t recognise the number. A woman I'd worked with before, Fiona McBeath, had left me a message saying she'd changed jobs and was wondering if I was available to do some work for them.

No really, I am pregnant. The baby is due in August. It’s our third boy. We are very happy. So why am I so terrified about telling my clients?

Yesterday at 1.45pm will become one of those times that everyone in the country remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing for years to come. The next few weeks are shaping up to be a rollercoaster. Work lives and home lives will be combined in the most extreme way.