Michelle Wu made history as the first woman to be elected mayor of Boston. Then she made history by being the first Boston mayor to give birth while in office. Now she’s making history by going back to work, often with her baby in her arms, just weeks after giving birth.
Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Observers aren’t sure.
Wu is one of several moms who recently returned to the spotlight mere days after giving birth. Brittany Mahomes showed up at a Kansas City Chiefs game to support husband Patrick just six days postpartum, and University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Kim Caldwell returned to the court one week after giving birth to her first child.
Why are new moms returning to the public eye so soon? Do they feel pressured, or is it a choice? And how does their return affect the perspective of other moms who are still working to physically, psychologically and emotionally heal after giving birth?
The answers are more nuanced than you might think.
“The city never stops,” says Wu with a laugh, as she speaks to TODAY.com by phone while also breastfeeding Mira.
“Serving in elected office is a unique responsibility,” she says, noting that once elected, “there is really no substitute for the person whose name was on the ballot.”
Mira, Wu’s third child, was born on Jan. 14, 2025. Just hours after giving birth, she was already connecting with her senior staff, and on Jan. 28, she returned to work at City Hall with Mira in tow. As a result, she has been fielding both criticism and praise.
Wu says that for the first two weeks following Mira’s birth, she followed her doctor’s orders to stay off her feet and prioritize her physical recovery. Now she’s resumed attending events in person; she usually brings Mira as her plus-one “because she can’t go too long without eating right now.”
When her oldest child was born a decade ago, Boston had long waiting lists for daycare, early education programs weren’t big enough for the population and paid parental leave had yet to be firmly established. Thanks in part to Wu’s efforts, the childcare and education programs have greatly expanded, and almost every city worker has paid parental leave (including a childcare program right at City Hall).
Social media comments on Wu’s return ranged from supportive to conflicted to downright hostile.
- “I have enormous respect for a working mom.”
- “Return to work? How utterly bizarre that in the US this is expected when she’s just had a baby.”
- “She can’t win. If she took leave, people would chastise her for ‘leaving’ her post. If she continues working, people chastise her for not prioritizing her baby. This is the double-bind women leaders experience all.the.time.”
- “I find this a slap in the face to women and championing the sanctity of maternity leave — this should not be celebrated.”
Catherine Birndorf, a reproductive psychiatrist and co-founder of The Motherhood Center, thinks it’s “freaking great” to see women like Wu bring their young children to work. “People should do what they want to do, honestly, if they’re lucky enough to have the choice,” she says, noting the importance of keeping an eye on a mother’s psychological and emotional state.
She adds, “It’s normalizing an experience that most people have. We don’t have the policies for it, we don’t have the infrastructure for it, we don’t have the support for it.” At least we don’t have the support yet. Perhaps by showing the work of motherhood, Wu is making a case for those changes.
Lauren Smith Brody, founder of The Fifth Trimester and co-founder of Chamber of Mothers, cheers Wu for making the challenges of motherhood visible.
“We can’t solve problems we can’t see,” she tells TODAY.com.
“I think it’s important that we all be able to do what works for our lives,” she shares, noting that she once had a boss who opted to return to work just two weeks after giving birth. “But I think it is equally important that in order not to set an unrealistic example for people working around us, that we’re transparent about why this is hard, about why we want to be there, about why we’ve made that choice.”
Neither Birndorf nor Brody pass judgement on Wu’s choice to return to work. But they do note that she is fortunate to be able to make the choice.
Wu says being the mayor of Boston and raising a newborn are both “a 24/7 job.” Regardless of time of day, “You’re there to make the important decisions whenever they’re needed,” she says.
Luckily, she tells TODAY.com, Mira is “a very laid back, chill third child” who is used to commotion from her older brothers and sleeps in three-hour stretches at night. In fact, Wu says she found the third trimester “miserable” and is now getting better sleep than she did before Mira was born.
Wu says she also feels lucky to be surrounded by coworkers “who know this juggle intimately” and are working hard to ensure that other families also have options and supports.
