Mindful Return: An E-Course for Parents Returning to Work After Parental Leave
Oversubscribed Newsletter
Season: Q1 2026
New Year, Fresh Start
Article by Megan Hughes, PhD
Eleven years ago, I had my first baby and took maternity leave from my full-time job as a psychologist in academic medicine. I remember feeling bewildered and unsure how to adjust to my new identity as a mother, after having spent my first 35 years solidly identifying as an overachiever at school and work. I joke that my now-husband got two promotions during the two years we were dating because he started working the same hours as I did, and he got a lot accomplished with all those extra hours on the job. But it’s not a joke, it really happened. It’s a good reminder how society can provide a LOT of positive reinforcement for long hours and dedication to work. And that reinforcement can be hard to give up.
So, it was no wonder that I found myself floundering while on maternity leave, attempting to mold myself into a new identity, that of a working mom. The lack of sleep, of course, didn’t help. Luckily, I had a friend from college with whom I had recently reconnected, who literally created the course to help moms (and now all parents) to manage this life transition.
Lori Mihalich-Levin, JD is the CEO and Founder of Mindful Return, an e-course program and working parent community for parents returning to work after parental leave. She created the Mindful Return program in “sheer desperation” after her infant son wouldn’t take a bottle, and she was afraid that he’d starve himself when she went back to work. She joined a cohort of Shawn Fink’s “Abundant Mama Project” which she found very helpful, but then wondered about what support existed specifically for working moms returning to work after maternity leave. She didn’t find anything, so she decided to create one. Eleven years and 3,500 participants later, she has so much wisdom to share with the world. Mindful Return now has subgroups in multiple languages and specialty programs for parents of children with special needs, for new fathers, and for 2nd time parents.
Mindful Return is a 4-week program (one cohort is for new moms, and another is for new dads) that offers self-guided online lessons, followed by prompts for participants to respond in writing to the community. Participants can review the material and join the online chat at any time of day (or night) and then review the posts of other community members. The course covers four main domains: mindset, logistics, leadership, and community. The topics within those domains cross many areas, including changes in identity as a new parent, logistics such as how to manage the unexpected sick day, how to plan for pumping or formula upon return to work, how to demonstrate leadership at work in how you managed your parental leave, and how to develop a supportive community in and outside of work to manage this new dual identity of working parenthood. The course is moderated by certified coaches, and there are a few live calls to connect with your cohort while the program is running. Participants have access to the content forever.
I remember the Mindful Return course as an invaluable connection point to new parents in the same boat as me. During my middle-of-the-night nursing sessions in the haze of early motherhood, the course stood out as a place to feel understood by other new parents trying to navigate this transition. In addition to the emotional support aspect, I developed a cope ahead plan for how to manage the practical components like being in the office for “only” 8 hours a day, pumping at work, and managing sick days.
Looking back at the entries I created for the Mindful Return course 11 years ago, I was struck by both how much it helped me navigate the early days of parenthood, and just how much has changed since then. There is, of course, the fact that my kids can survive (and even thrive) without my constant attention, which is SO different than in the early years. There is also the fact that my husband and I have new roles at work and we have taken on different specialties as a parenting team. Working parenthood is ever-evolving, and I love the idea of reconnecting with a new cohort of parents to wrestle with my current experience of working parenthood. It’s probably time for me to sign up for her Working Parent 201 course!