Can you work from home with a newborn? An honest plan
You can work from home with a newborn, but usually not in the first weeks, and rarely in the neat, scheduled way people imagine. Your body needs time to recover (an Australian health service notes many women have recovered from labour and birth after about 6 weeks, depending on the birth), and newborns feed around 8 to 12 times in 24 hours, so early work hours are small, broken and flexible. Paid leave rules matter too: in Australia, Parental Leave Pay is paid for days you’re not working, and in the US, FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. An honest plan is a slow ramp: rest first, learn second, then a few flexible hours, then a role.
At She Sells we train women, especially mums (moms in the US), for remote sales roles worked from home, with a team in Australia and the US. We’d rather tell you when sales work doesn’t fit than sell you a fantasy.
A realistic timeline: what work fits each stage
Every baby and every birth is different, so treat this as a starting point to talk through with your doctor or midwife and your partner, not a rule.
| Stage | What’s usually going on | Realistic work at home | Remote sales fit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth to about 6 weeks | Physical recovery, frequent feeds day and night, your postnatal check around 6 weeks | None, or tiny admin tasks if you genuinely want them | No. This is recovery time. |
| About 6 to 12 weeks | Feeding still frequent, sleep broken, routines starting to show | Learning in short bursts: reading, listening, watching training | Learning only. Not live calls. |
| About 3 to 6 months | Every baby differs, but many families find days a little easier to read | A few hours a week of flexible, async work (messages, follow-ups, admin) | Possibly: message-based appointment setting with flexible hours |
| 6 months and beyond, or with childcare | More predictable days, or set hours covered by a partner, family or care | Scheduled work blocks, including calls | Better: booked sales calls need quiet, reliable time slots |
Recovery, feeding and sleep: the honest part
The Australian health information site Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says you’ll normally be advised to have a postnatal check 6 weeks after having your baby, that many women have recovered from labour and childbirth after 6 weeks, and that this can depend on your birth experience. The check also covers your emotional health and wellbeing. So your timeline is yours, not someone else’s. Ask your own doctor before you plan any return.
On feeding, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says most exclusively breastfed babies feed every 2 to 4 hours, about 8 to 12 times in 24 hours, and some feed as often as every hour at times (cluster feeding). That’s why “I’ll work during naps” plans fall apart in the early weeks: the gaps are short and unpredictable, and you’re also meant to sleep in some of them.
We won’t give medical advice beyond that. What we will say is that sales work runs on energy, focus and a steady voice, and those are exactly what a newborn borrows from you. Waiting a little longer is not falling behind.
What She Sells offers during this season
The useful thing about remote sales is that the learning can start well before the earning:
- She Launches is the foundation program: live coaching, role play and sales frameworks for appointment setting and closing. It does not include direct placement.
- She Soars is the career program through the She Sells “Cert III in Remote Sales” certificate, with placement facilitation: once you’re certified, our recruitment team works with you to land a role within 90 days, or your money back.
- The free community and our podcast, “She’s Not Selling”, are a low-pressure way to learn while you’re still in baby land.
Our honest advice: if you’re in the first few months, listen and learn, and save structured programs for when you can protect a few regular hours. The programs page has the details.
Planning ahead while on leave? Book a free call with the She Sells team and talk through timing with no pressure.
Australia: Parental Leave Pay and keeping in touch days
Two different things get mixed up here, so let’s separate them.
Parental Leave Pay (Services Australia)
Parental Leave Pay is the government payment. For children born or adopted from 1 July 2026, a family can get up to 130 days, or 26 weeks based on a 5 day work week, and the rate for the 2026-27 financial year is A$200.94 a day before tax, according to Services Australia. For children born from 1 July 2025, the ATO also pays a superannuation contribution on it.
The key rule for working from home: Parental Leave Pay is paid for days when you’re not working. Services Australia counts you as working on a day if you work one hour or more, and you need to tell them, then either pick a new day or return that day to your balance. Birth mothers must not work within 14 days after the birth, even for an allowable reason. Because days can be used flexibly, you could, for example, claim Parental Leave Pay on days you don’t work and do a few hours of work on other days, as long as you report it correctly.
Keeping in touch days (Fair Work)
Keeping in touch days belong to your employer’s unpaid parental leave, not to Parental Leave Pay. The Fair Work Ombudsman says employees on a continuous period of unpaid parental leave can agree with their employer to take up to 10 keeping in touch days in the first 12 months, paid at their normal wage, and these can include remote work. They can’t be taken in the first 14 days after birth; after that you can ask for one, and after 42 days your employer can suggest one. Fair Work also flags that you should check how they affect your Parental Leave Pay.
US: FMLA and state paid leave
The US has no national paid parental leave. The Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau notes there is currently no federal paid family and medical leave law, and that 13 states and the District of Columbia have laws that create paid family and medical leave programs. Check your state’s program directly.
Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period, including for the birth of a child and to care for the newborn within one year of birth. To be eligible you generally need to have worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months, have at least 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before leave, and work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. FMLA covers employees, so if you’re a 1099 contractor, you’re planning your own leave.
When remote sales fits a newborn season, and when it doesn’t
It can fit when
- The work is message-based and flexible, like some appointment setting roles where you reply to leads in your own windows.
- You can protect a few predictable hours a week with help from a partner, family or childcare.
- You’re learning, not yet relying on the income. Commission-heavy roles take time to build.
It doesn’t fit when
- The role needs live calls at fixed times and you can’t predict feeds or settling.
- You’d need commission income straight away to pay the bills. Many remote sales roles are commission-heavy or commission-only, and results take time.
- You’re still recovering physically or emotionally. That comes first.
Our guide to remote closer vs appointment setter explains why setting is usually the gentler first step. For later stages, see returning to work after maternity leave remotely and how to work from home with a toddler.
An honest plan in five steps
- Protect recovery. No work commitments before your postnatal check, and none after it without your doctor’s okay.
- Know your leave rules. In Australia, map Parental Leave Pay days and any keeping in touch days. In the US, check FMLA eligibility and your state’s paid leave program.
- Learn in small pieces. Podcasts during feeds, short lessons during naps. No deadlines.
- Test a few flexible hours. Try two or three short blocks a week and see how your household copes.
- Then go for a role. When you can protect regular time, look for flexible appointment setting first, and move to live calls when your days are predictable.
For what it’s worth, Brooke made $440 in her first month of remote sales in 2020. Starting small is normal.
Want a plan that fits your baby, not the other way round? Book a free call with the She Sells team in Australia and the US.
Results vary. Nothing here is a promise of income. See our earnings disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
How soon after birth can I work from home?
There’s no single answer, and it’s one for your doctor or midwife. A postnatal check is normally advised around 6 weeks after birth, and many women have recovered from labour and birth by then, though it depends on your birth. In Australia, birth mothers getting Parental Leave Pay must not work within 14 days after the birth.
Can I work while getting Parental Leave Pay in Australia?
Parental Leave Pay is paid for days you’re not working. If you work one hour or more on a day you’ve claimed, Services Australia asks you to tell them and either choose a new day or return that day to your balance.
Is FMLA leave paid?
No. FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave, including after the birth of a child. Some states run their own paid family leave programs, so check your state.
Can I take sales calls with a newborn at home?
Live calls with a newborn in the room are hard because feeds and settling are unpredictable. Message-based appointment setting in flexible windows is usually more realistic, and live calls work better once you have predictable time or childcare.
Should I start a sales course while on maternity leave?
Only if it feels like energy in, not energy out. Light learning can be a nice way to plan ahead, but there’s no prize for rushing, and the skill will still be there when you’re ready.
