# Maternity Service

**The essential companion for every mother embarking on maternity leave**  
  
_'In one important sense maternity leave is poorly named, as it involves no actual leave. You are constantly on, even when your offspring is having a nap. There is nothing restful about it. In another sense maternity leave is aptly named, because it's a period of leave from all you know: taking leave of one's mind, body, job, and relationships'_  
  
When Emma Barnett began her second maternity leave, she realized that, despite having been there before, as soon as her first leave finished the rose-tinted lenses had descended and she immediately forgot what the experience was _actually_ like when you're in it. This collective forgetting, which leads to well-meaning comments such as 'enjoy every minute' and 'treasure this special time', is doing a disservice to women, leaving them unprepared for the more complicated reality of what it means to be on maternity _service_.  
  
In this warmly reassuring, refreshingly honest book, Emma sets out to capture this reality, in real time while on her latest tour of duty**_._** She isn't offering advice on sleep-training or weaning or helping your baby reach milestones. Instead, this book is a celebration and acknowledgement of the _work_ of being on maternity leave, with its soaring highs and challenging lows, and its impact on how women feel about our purpose and ourselves.  
  
**'Kind, funny, smart, soothing and radical ... This book is a hot cup of tea, a steadying hand on an arm, a baton passed with care and compassion ... A true gift for mothers, and an act of service in itself. This book will change lives' LUCY JONES, author of _Matrescence_**

## Details

- **Price:** 18.35 GBP
- **Vendor:** Penguin Books, Limited
- **Type:** Unknown Author
- **Tags:** All Books, Main Non-Fiction, Self Help

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 18.35 GBP | In stock |

## Images

- Maternity Service

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> Source: [Somiibooks](https://somiibooks.com/products/maternity-service)
> Updated: 2026-08-29