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I'm in Canada and was gone 10 months. I found it surprising how it seemed that I had never been gone. I found by 9 months, that I was really wanting to come back. My company cuts off your email during mat leave, so I couldn't check emails even if I wanted to. I guess they don't want you to have 10000000 emails when you come back. I don't feel it hurt my career trajectory, but I don't really have any desire to be management anyways. Having said all that, I'm not sure it's very useful to compare people's experiences in other countries. The culture here surrounding mat leave here is so different from what it sounds like it is in the US. It's expected that you will be gone up to a year with mat leaves. Generally, you aren't expected to keep in touch or come back early (there are exceptions, of course). I'm not sure what happens with people with more ambition than me.

My sister just returned back to work after taking 5 months off. She's in the US. She's a manager. I'm not sure how her work was affected. I did ask her if she could see herself going back to work at 3 months and she said it would have been hard because her LO wasn't STTN. Makes me think I should try to take 4 months off.

Oh, my sister checked email on Mat leave. I will probably do the same. I also don't think my sister had a replacement while she was gone. She trained someone new before she left on Mat leave and I believe the new hire took over some of her work. My company is currently hiring a temp position for me.

I was just wondering the same thing. I was taken off work a couple months before I gave birth and am taking 3 and 1/2 months of maternity leave. I was just thinking about it today. Do I even remember my passwords and how much has changed? I wish I could get a day or two of retraining.

I work for an American company with a European parent. Maternity leave in both places is officially 3 months, but in the mother country only, they offer up to 7 months leave based on years of service. I happened to be in that country when my son was born.

I ended up taking off 2 years after the birth of my son and I returned to work in the US. It was a smooth transition back, but I returned in different capacity and it has turned out wonderfully. I am off of what I would consider to be the "fast track" but it's okay, my priorities are different now.

@Charm54: I'm a teacher as well, I feel like I've been away solong, but nothing has changed!
I return end of this month for trainings for the new year!
I am in US and I used to come in early and leave late...many teachers do (un-paid) to get things done, I'm nervous because it has become kind of standard on my grade team to stay after and plan/discuss things....I didnt mind before but now priority is my baby and I'm definitely going to want to head home

@FaithFertility: it's definitely different...pre-baby, teaching was my life - I spent so much of my own money and time on perfecting my classroom and teaching practices. I volunteered for everything, staying late, coming in early, working nights and weekends.

It was a shift of priorities when I went back to work...I still felt a huge desire to learn and grow and become a better teacher, but I wasn't investing the kind of time and money that I was pre baby. I try to get my work done during school hours as much as possible so I can pick LO up at a reasonable time and enjoy my hours with her.

Good luck going back!!

@pachamama: I wonder if that's why they do it here. EI (the govt insurance program that covers mat leave) will not let you make too much extra money while you are collecting EI benefits.

Well, I live in America and I'm an attorney, and I am in my 10th month of maternity leave. I will have taken a full year off by the time I return. I will also be returning half time.

Most female attorneys in my office take 6 months off when they have a baby, perhaps a little shorter after their second, if they have a second. But there are others like me who have taken a full year. I think part of it is because most of the women in my office have their babies later in life (mid-to-late 30s is the norm here) and most are one and done so they want to make the most of their baby bonding time. Furthermore, most of the time they've put in several years of work so they feel like they've sorta earned it. Overall, people who work in my office generally work there for their entire careers and there are probably more women in the office than men, so our employer tends to take a long view of things like family leave. You start working there right after law school, get a few years of good work in, spend a few years of rotating in and out for babies, and then eventually get many more years of full time work out of a dedicated and more efficient employee (gotta get out of here and make my kid's soccer game!) who's going to be looking to keep that job (gotta save for college!)

I realize I am extremely lucky to have a flexible job like that. Officially my job only provides short term disability (6 weeks at 50% pay for natural birth, 8 weeks if you have a C-section), and any other leave is your vacation time. But our positions are held open for up to a year unpaid with a right of return at the pay grade you were at when you left. And we have the option of working reduced hours as long as those hours are agreed to with your supervisor. I made it very clear I wanted to return to work at half time when I left for maternity leave and my department really likes me, so they wanted me back. Most moms ramp up to full time after working part time for a while, but it all depends on individual circumstances. I'm not sure what to do with regards to our next child - we want another and I'm already 34, but I feel bad getting pregnant right away after taking a year off. That said, when I stopped by this week to check in with my bosses, they were already asking me when I was going to have a little girl (I had a son). So maybe its not as big of a deal as I think??