A recent poll found that maternity leave is far from an additional holiday for the majority of new mothers.
In fact, 27% did not enjoy their maternity leave as much as they thought they would with 47% finding themselves feeling lonely during the period.
Two in five women missed being at work and one in five wished they had gone back earlier.
The poll also highlighted the stress caused on a relationship by one parent having to return to work as the main breadwinner, with the other left at home with the baby.
But there is another option.
Cuckooz Nest is London’s first full-flexible, Ofsted-registered nursery with integrated workspace so that parents with children under two can bridge the work-life gap sooner and with the support needed.
With Cuckooz Nest, parents can book office space with no contractual obligations for as little as one hour on a pay as you go basis. The idea came from entrepreneur and mother of one, Charlie Rosier and best friend and business partner Fabienne O’Neil after Charlie struggled to find affordable, flexible childcare when returning to work.
Charlie Rosier (L) and Fabienne O’Neill
In a city where one in seven freelancers are working mums, they decided that there needed to be another option available and decided to partner with London based agency, Manny and Me, to ensure the highest quality of staff and educational programming were delivered.
Already an overwhelming success, they have no plans of slowing down and are in talks with a number of high-profile London-based businesses to expand Cuckooz Nest so that more new parents can return to work as and when they feel they need to, without compromising on child care.
Charlie Rosier, Cuckooz Nest Co-founder commented: “Maternity leave is far from the blissful holiday that many believe or expect it to be and as this latest poll shows, it can be a struggle for the many parents catapulted away from their regular busy lives into what can be a lonely and isolated environment.
We’ve already seen a change in societies views and acceptance of what is normal when it comes to looking after our children. It’s no longer expected to be the sole responsibility and many men now take the helm of maternity leave.
However, we would like to see a further change that facilitates the needs of both parents and enables them to return to work at their own pace, while ensuring they have access to the childcare they need.
Cuckooz Nest is a solution that combines the need to return to work and the availability of child care in one and we strongly believe this will become a key feature that employees look for when seeking employment in the future.
This isn’t just a ‘mum thing’. The Cuckooz Nest philosophy is that both mums and dads are welcome in their co-working spaces – parenting is surely a shared responsibility after all.”