We hear a lot about the stresses of juggling motherhood with paid work and the subsequent harm this might cause our children. But recent research led by Dr Anne McMunn suggests this is most likely myth rather than fact. Far from being detrimental to a child's development it can have the opposite effect.

Anne McMunn is Senior Resarch Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL. She currently leads a research project within the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health (ICLS) investigating the influence of parental divisions in paid employment and childcare, as well as stability and change in family structure, on the emotional wellbeing of children in the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). In addition, Dr. McMunn continues her work on the social determinants of healthy ageing in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).