Parenting Journal · Volume 1 · Issue 5 · Licensed source edition
Returning to Work After Maternity Leave: A Qualitative Study of Nurses' Experiences and Factors Influencing Their Retention
Originally published 2026-06-21 · Nursing Open
Wiley · DOI 10.1002/nop2.70654 ↗
Working-family evidence
Work, care and the whole person.
Examines work–family integration, support and organizational practices in nurses’ decisions to stay, emphasizing a return shaped with the employee.
Directly examines work and family life, parenting, caregiving or employment policies for families.
Editorial reading guide · Independence
What would make a returning parent want to stay rather than merely manage the first shift?
Examines work–family integration, support and organizational practices in nurses’ decisions to stay, emphasizing a return shaped with the employee.
Study context
12 nurses interviewed in a health service in South-East Queensland, Australia.
Age / stage: Adult nurses returning after maternity leave.
Read with three questions
- Which experiences distinguished supportive flexibility from rigid rostering?
- How did participants describe gaps between policy and practice?
- Which retention concerns were reported intentions rather than observed departures?
Keep the limits in view
A small single-service qualitative study describes experiences and intentions, not comparative retention effects; hospital scheduling conditions may differ from other work.
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Original authorship, publication date, journal and DOI are preserved. This issue’s TRICK placement and reading questions are editorial additions, not claims made by the original authors.
Elizabeth Johnson; Jennifer Kosiol; Elizabeth Elder (2026). Returning to Work After Maternity Leave: A Qualitative Study of Nurses' Experiences and Factors Influencing Their Retention Nursing Open. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70654
Permissions checked against the saved article notice; repository publication notices screened 2026-11-05. This is not a new peer-review decision. The source authors and publishers are not represented as endorsing this issue.