It's obvious that having a baby is going to cause many women to change their work lives. Some may make choices to stay home with their baby, or go part-time, out of necessity or by choice. What comes as surprise to most women, though, is how having a baby makes their brains work differently. Sometimes this new thinking can inspire them to create changes they didn't even know they were interested in.
Realizing That Old Jobs Were Never Right to Begin With
Some women always know, deep down or consciously, that what they are doing is, and always has been, a compromise. Perhaps she always wanted to be an artist, for example, but felt afraid to pursue this path seriously. Fear of not being able to earn money, or fears that she will not be good enough could have caused her to go into another field altogether.
Having a baby is a bit like being forced to take truth serum. The woman may have managed to slog through a less-than-satisfying job for years and years, but when faced with the prospect of leaving her precious new baby home with a sitter while she goes off to do work she doesn't love, she may realize it just does not make sense to continue. Many women say, "If I am going to leave my baby at home or in a day care, then it had better be for something that I really love to do."
When this happens, many women quit their jobs and are able to finally come to terms with that secret thing they always wanted to do. They may find courage to start writing, or go back to school to follow their heart's desire.
Other women may not know what kind of work is right for them. They only know that what they have been doing up until now is not it. Having a baby may be a turning point – a good time to begin to try to figure it out. Some new moms go to see career counselors, or take classes at a local school, in order to find something new to do that will make them happy.
"I Never Knew the World Needed..."
Some women find that being a mother shifts their point of view so sharply that they begin to see the world in a whole new way.
Sometimes that is based on pure need. A woman who has trouble nursing, for example, may feel inspired to offer other women help when they need it. Such a woman might become a lactation consultant, for example, or write a book or article on the topic.
Another woman may actually invent a device or product that solves a problem she encountered as a new mom. Athena Menoudakos, a mother of 4, invented a device called the Snacker Catcher that helps prevent kids from dropping their food on the floor. Sales of this product have helped her to fund research on more inventions for parents.
There is even an organization called Mom Invented. Tamara Monosoff, the founder is a mom inventor herself, having created a product called the TP Saver that prevents small children from unrolling and playing with entire rolls of toilet paper. She has also written a book for inventor moms, The Mom Inventors Handbook: How to Turn Your Great Idea into the Next Big Thing [McGraw-Hill, 2005].
Other women find their shifted point of view causes them to create new organizations or begin new not-for-profit businesses.
Deciding to Stay Home
Many women find that the work they are inspired to do is to stay home with their child. Although some women know they want to do this ahead of time, and may have certain values that make them believe this is the right thing to do, many women are surprised to discover they feel this way after the baby is born – or even later, when their children are a bit older, even though they had planned to return to their careers.
Women may discover they are actually jealous of their nannies or other caregivers, or find themselves fantasizing about what they would do with their children if they weren't on the job. Some researchers believe that the numbers of women who leave the corporate world to stay at home are growing in recent years.
No matter whether a woman makes big changes, or small ones, almost every woman finds that change is inevitable once she has a child. For some women that change will evolve into a truly inspired shift that changes their work lives completely – and may make a difference to others as well.
For more information read:
Parenting Help on Becoming a Stay-at-home Mom
A Career Guide for Creative People: How to Turn Your Creative Impulses Into a Paying Job
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