Therapy for Returning to Work Postpartum
Process the emotional weight of leaving your baby
Navigate identity shifts and career pressures
Work through guilt around childcare and separation
Set boundaries that honor your needs at home and work
Feel more grounded, confident, and whole in this next chapter
It’s okay if going back to work feels harder than you imagined.
Maybe you’re counting the days with dread. Maybe you’re mourning the version of you who had slow mornings and snuggles. Or maybe part of you wants to go back—but you’re carrying guilt for even feeling that way.
You might be pumping between meetings, holding tears during daycare drop-off, or wondering how you’re supposed to be “fully back” when you’re still healing—physically, emotionally, and mentally.
And underneath it all, you might be thinking:
“Will my baby be okay without me?”
“Am I allowed to miss this and also not want to stay home?”
“How do I balance it all without losing myself?”
At Matrescence Therapy, we know this transition is about so much more than logistics. It’s about identity, pressure, expectations, and care—for your baby and for you.
You’re Not Just Going Back to Work
Returning to work postpartum isn’t just clocking back in. It’s learning how to carry two worlds at once: the professional and the personal, the nurturing and the producing, the soft and the sharp.
You might be experiencing:
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Guilt for leaving your baby in someone else’s care
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Anxiety about your baby’s safety or emotional wellbeing
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Resentment at having to return when you’re not ready
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Pressure to prove you’re still just as “productive”
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Identity confusion around who you are now
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Exhaustion from trying to do it all
This is a huge shift—and it’s okay if it doesn’t feel seamless. Therapy can help you move through the grief, ambivalence, and pressure with more clarity, compassion, and support.
Support That Gets It—From Every Angle
We know how personal this transition is. And how little space the world gives you to talk about it honestly. Therapy is a space where you can say the hard things, sort through the noise, and figure out what you need most in this season.
- Say the quiet parts out loud: You can love your baby and miss your job. You can want to work and wish you didn’t have to. All of it belongs.
- We’ll talk logistics and feelings: Not just how to coordinate pumping—but how to navigate the feelings of missing, worrying, or detaching.
- Build boundaries that protect your wellbeing: Learn how to say no, ask for flexibility, and honor your capacity—without shame.
This isn’t about being a “working mom” or a “stay-at-home mom.” It’s about being you—supported, seen, and centered in the process.
You’re not selfish for wanting more support. Therapy can help.
Grieve and Honor the Transition
Work Through Guilt, Anxiety, or Resentment
Rebuild Identity and Confidence at Work and Home
Feel More Balanced
MATRESCENCE THERAPY
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Phone number: 224-999-0591
Virtual Sessions Throughout Chicagoland, Illinois, & Indiana
*This is a virtual practice.
All sessions are held through video. You must be residing in Illinois or Indiana.