Returning to Work, Travel, and Running After Becoming a Mother

The systems I built during my first year of motherhood were meant to support daily life at home. I did not know how they would hold once I started moving again.

This piece picks up where part one left off. It focuses on what happened when I returned to running, work travel, and professional spaces, and how motherhood showed up once I was back in motion.

Returning to Movement

The day after we got home from the hospital, my husband suggested I walk to the end of our street and back.

Just ten minutes, however slowly I wanted.

It helped that it was winter in South Florida, with sunny days and cooler temperatures. I started walking most days, sometimes alone and often with my husband and our son. Those walks became a way to reconnect after busy days, FaceTime family, and watch our son experience the world.

Before pregnancy, I considered myself a runner. Running gave me balance and a sense of identity outside of work and home. After my six week checkup, once I was cleared for physical activity, I started thinking about what returning to running might look like.

I found guidance from Dr. Carrie Pagliano, a pelvic floor therapist who works with runners, and followed a gradual return to running program. With my husband’s encouragement, I chose a winter half marathon, giving myself plenty of time to train and avoiding the summer heat.

Training required planning. Long runs meant coordinating feeding schedules and pumping ahead of time. It also meant being intentional about how we structured weekends so both of us could make space for movement. It was not perfect or linear, but it was manageable.

I like to think our son has inherited our enjoyment of being outside. He loves our daily walks and seems content in the jogging stroller during shorter runs. Maybe one day he will run alongside me.

When Work Travel Became Real Again

The first real test of my systems came when I was scheduled to attend my first postpartum conference.

I had planned carefully. My mom was flying in to help. The logistics felt settled. The day before I was supposed to travel, our entire household came down with COVID.

Instead of getting on a plane, I stayed home and took care of a sick family. I was really disappointed. I had pushed to attend this conference and had figured out the details to make it possible. I let myself sit with that frustration before moving on.

That experience reminded me that even well built systems cannot account for everything. Sometimes plans change, and there is nothing to solve. I did get manage to host my first post-pregnancy press trip in May.

Melissa (left) hosting her first post-partum press trip in May 2025

What to Know When Attending Events or Traveling as a New Mother

When I did begin traveling again, communication became the most important system I had.

I started asking questions earlier than I used to. For conferences and events, I reached out about nursing rooms, quiet spaces, and fridge access ahead of time. For overnight stays, I asked when booking the hotel. For day long events, I contacted organizers about a week in advance.

Melissa (third from left) on stage at the Independent Hotel Show Miami in 2025

Having those conversations upfront reduced stress and allowed me to focus on the work once I arrived.

For hoteliers and event organizers reading this, there are small ways to better support new mothers traveling for work. Offering a mini fridge for milk storage. Placing new moms in quieter rooms away from nightlife. Providing extra pillows for comfort. These gestures are simple, but they signal care and go a long way.

What Returning to Work, Travel and Movement as a Mom Clarified

Returning to movement and travel did not mean returning to who I was before motherhood. It meant integrating this new version of myself into spaces that were not always designed with mothers in mind.

The systems I built were not about efficiency. They were about sustainability.

Motherhood did not slow my ambition. It changed how I move through the world, at home and on the road.

Invisible labor deserves acknowledgement. Partnership deserves clarity. Identity deserves protection. Cultivate your village and find what works for you – at home, at work, and everywhere in between.

Melissa Benhaim is Founder of Benhaim Public Relations, representing hotels, destinations, and travel brands across the U.S. and Caribbean to secure them media coverage in the outlets that matter to them most. A contributor to hertelier, she wrote Lessons from Latina Hospitality Leaders for Hispanic Heritage Month.