Most of us mothers can't help but feel some sense of guilt when we leave our babies to care givers while we go to work.
A lot of mothers have to work not by choice, but out of necessity.
Given these circumstances, it doesn't help anyone, including our babies, if we feel guilty.
Here are 4 reasons why we don't need to feel guilty.

1. Society still holds the mistaken belief that in order for children to develop healthily they need to be looked after exclusively by their mothers until around three years and separations, even short ones, are viewed as bad.
   Yet the truth is that research shows leaving your baby with someone else is not necessarily harmful.
   There is no doubt that babies need to be able to form warm, close and loving attachments so that later they are equipped to form relationships with other adults.
   And the closest relationship is often with a parent, and usually their mother.
   But that certainly doesn't mean you are the only one who can look after them.
   Babies can also form close relationships with other people such as fathers, grandparents and child minders, and are happy to be looked after by them, too.
   
2. It isn't so much the amount of time your baby spends with someone that is important for her happiness, but more the quality of care that person gives.
   This will depend on whether your baby has had time to build up a trusting relationship with that person, whether the carer has learned to be responsive to her needs and has got to know all her little ways and habits.
   Basically, a baby is happy to be left with someone if she feels confident that her needs will be met.
   
3. Furthermore, if you choose well, your baby should benefit from the childcare arrangements.
   For example, if she is an only child she may benefit from having time to interact with other children and to learn social skills.
   Or if she is from a large family, she may value getting more attention from a one to one situation.
   
4. There are also plenty of other reasons why mums don't need to feel guilty when they leave their babies with someone else.
   Many women feel that if they go out to work or spend some time away from their baby, they come back better mothers.
   A lot of women lose confidence when they have a baby and find that doing something else helps them to regain their self-esteem, which in turn makes them able to care for their baby more happily.