Now, I must start by saying I’m not the target audience as I’m a fifty-something without children and this is intended as a manual or treatise supportive of other new mothers.
Having said that, I found it really interesting and I’ll never tell a departing colleague to have a great year’s leave, again!
Barnet’s point (I think) is that maternity service - her preferred term - is a hard slog which is misrepresented, and therefore leaves new mothers feeling like failures.
It’s a point well-made but it felt like quite a slight book. More of an article, maybe?
I did find insightful and of course Barnett writes well, so it’s a four stars from me.

Maternity Service by Emma Barnett is an honest, insightful, and much-needed companion for any mother navigating the complex reality of maternity leave. Rather than offering the usual advice on sleep schedules or feeding routines, Barnett provides a refreshing and relatable exploration of what maternity leave entails—the emotional, physical, and mental shifts that come with becoming a mother.

Barnett argues that the term maternity leave is misleading. Far from being a restful break, it is an all-consuming period of adjustment, upheaval, and relentless responsibility. Drawing from her own experiences, she captures the highs and lows of this time with warmth and humour, challenging the rose-tinted narratives that often surround early motherhood. She highlights the pressure placed on new mothers to “treasure every moment” while grappling with exhaustion, identity shifts, and the loss of autonomy.

Written in real time during her second maternity leave, this book acknowledges the unseen labour of caring for a newborn and the impact it has on women’s sense of self, their careers, and their relationships. It is not a parenting manual but a survival guide—one that validates the experience of new mothers and reassures them that they are not alone.

With honesty, practicality, and kindness, Maternity Service sheds light on the reality of early motherhood in a way that is both comforting and empowering. It is a must-read for expectant and new mothers, as well as anyone seeking to understand the challenges and triumphs of maternity leave beyond the clichés.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Honest, practical and, most importantly, kind, Barnett's survival manual for maternity service is one all expectant and new mothers will find helpful.

We need more acknowledgement that motherhood/parenthood isn't always all it's cracked up to be whilst without a doubt being worth it. Barnett recognises that she is privileged not to have suffered from postnatal depression but highlights that we should be more open about the reality of parenting a baby, especially when in our modern society very few have the privilege to do this as a couple with fully shared responsibility.

I laughed, cried and raged whilst reading this. It was a breath of fresh air.

Thank you for my earc of this book. As someone on my own “maternity service” I was looking forward to reading this.
Unfortunately I didn’t finish. Though short, I just lost interest, I didn’t personally feel like there was any new insight and found it frustrationing when the book kept referring to what it was going to do, rather than just exploring or “doing” it, even though I was past the half way mark. I didn’t find ut hugely relatable and found it very surface level. It read like what a friend would say during a monologue over a brew. I knew I wasn’t personally going to get anything from continuing so stopped. I truly hope it helps others though!

Barnett’s style of writing was engaging, and funny at times, and even when the tone was a miss for me, it fell candid.
I cannot relate or agree with everything she mentions, but the main reason why I rate it the way I do is because many interesting points about maternity service was not elaborated on.

An interesting but unfortunately not all that impactful read. Although the author admits to having a very privileged, middle class experience of maternity leave she doesn't do anything to address the issue but rather continues to centre her own experience of her time spent raising her very young children. I have nothing in common with the author beyond being a mother and I couldn't connect with her story on an emotional level at all. If anything I thought it was very naive.

I wanted so much more from this. More experiences, more varied opinions and just more words. This was so brief that it hints at the experience rather than deep diving into the problem of maternity leave and society.

A rousing manifesto on rebranding maternity leave. Emma Barnett’s call to arms on how to survive ‘maternity service’ does occasionally hit the mark in places. The last time I was on maternity leave was 12 years ago, but I still remember vividly how I felt about it. Parts of this book are relatable and I applaud the authors efforts to normalise the negative aspects. The authors blatantly middle class lived experience however is grating. I cannot see who would buy this book other than the yummy mummy brigade. It irritated me that the only anecdotes included were women from seemingly similar situations to the author. Therefore I did not find this a well rounded argument.
Yes maternity leave was mind numbingly boring at times but what about the single mothers or women who don’t have the ‘luxury’ of returning to work to ‘recapture themselves’. How can we support those women better? I wasn’t terribly keen on the analogy of maternity leave being likened to a duty or military service - that just didn’t work for me.
A good idea on paper but the execution fell short for me.

A very much needed book - and invaluable to read while on maternity leave - but it's too short and feels very brief, which is a shame. Emma Barnett's writing is great and it's all very relatable, but I wish she wrote more or elaborated on most of the points she made in the book. Still, a good, quick read and it's nice to be reminded that other women feel and experience the same (even if sometimes it feels like we're in the trenches!).

Such a unique book and full of great and helpful advice for mothers embarking on maternity leave. As a non mom I found it interesting to hear the tales and advice given so I could only imagine what a resource it would be for actual moms.