Startseite
Podcasts
Good Inside with Dr. Becky Podcast
The Second Cutting of the Cord: What Actually Happens When You Go Back to Work

The Second Cutting of the Cord: What Actually Happens When You Go Back to Work

Good Inside with Dr. Becky vor 1 Woche

A special post from our podcast 'Rattled' about the moment we re-enter the workforce and wonder: what the heck just happened to me?

0:00

42:46

Twelve weeks of parental leave. Then you're back at your desk,
wondering why it feels so hard.

Today we’re posting an episode from Rattled, our podcast for
parents of newborns and babies, because it’s about something
everybody experiences. It’s the final part of our three-part
series with Care.com on finding care for your baby, and it's
about a transition nobody preps you for: going back to work.

Dr. Becky sits down with Lauren Smith Brody, journalist and
author of The Fifth Trimester, who's interviewed hundreds of
working moms about this exact moment (and lived it herself).
Lauren calls her own first day back "the second cutting of the
cord." She's got names for feelings you didn't know had names:
benevolent discrimination, gatekeeping, the 0.5x version of
yourself who has to show up the second you walk through your
front door.

They also get practical: how to turn decisions into systems
before decision fatigue wrecks your evening, what a "ramp up"
program actually looks like, and why mom guilt is, in Lauren's
words, "a sexist, classist social construct" you can solve for
like a math problem.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Care.com. Find
background-checked nannies, sitters, and daycares at Care.com,
and use code BECKY35 for 35% off your membership.

*

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

Pampers Easy Ups: Start your potty training journey with
Peppa Pig Pampers Easy Ups

Airbnb: Host your home or book your next stay on Airbnb

LMNT: Get a free gift with your purchase at
drinkLMNT.com/goodinside

Oso & Me: Use the code OSOGOOD15 for 15% off clothes
newborn through age ten

Care.com: For a limited time, you can use the code BECKY35 to
save 35% on a Care.com Premium Membership.*

*Offer applies to initial term of Care.com membership
subscriptions. Not applicable to add-on features or non-renewing
access fees or services. Expires 10/31/26. Care.com does not
employ or place any caregiver. Background checks are an important
start, but they have limits. Visit www.care.com/safety.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for
information about our collection and use of personal data for
advertising.