# My Wife Has a Plan for Her Life After Having Our First Baby > Wife plans to work after first baby as critics call her unfit mother. - Title: My Wife Has a Plan for Her Life After Having Our First Baby - Summary: Wife plans to work after first baby as critics call her unfit mother. Wife plans to work after first baby despite criticism that she's an unfit mother. - Keywords: wife, first baby, work, unfit mother, criticism, parenting, Plan, Life, Having, First, Baby, Slate Magazine - Source: Slate Magazine — https://slate.com/advice/2026/10/parent-advice-first-baby-reactions-work.html?via=rss - Author: Slate Staff - Published: 2026-10-08T11:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: wife, first baby, work, unfit mother, criticism, parenting ## Wife plans to work after first baby My wife and I are expecting our first child in October. She plans to continue working after we have our baby. ## Critics call her unfit mother A church lady told her she would never let anyone else raise her baby. Others ask how she could leave her baby with someone else. ## Wife's response to critics She responds that she would never make anyone feel uncomfortable she hardly knew. ## Prudie's advice Prudie suggests a polite response like 'what a surprising thing to hear from someone i don’t know well'. ## Prudie's data point Prudie cites u.s. department of labor stats: 76.3 percent of women ages 25-34 worked in 1998. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie says the reflexive polite demur is unnecessary when people are impertinently out of line. ## Prudie's advice on handling critics Prudie recommends looking at critics and responding that she would never make anyone feel uncomfortable she hardly knew. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie suggests a response like 'i do not recall asking your opinion'. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie says the reflexive polite demur is not necessary when people are impertinently out of line. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie recommends a response that shows the critics are making her feel uncomfortable. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie says the reflexive polite demur is unnecessary when people are impertinently out of line. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie suggests a response that shows the critics are making her feel uncomfortable. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie says the reflexive polite demur is unnecessary when people are impertinently out of line. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie recommends a response that shows the critics are making her feel uncomfortable. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie says the reflexive polite demur is unnecessary when people are impertinently out of line. ## Prudie's advice on response Prudie recommends a response that shows the critics are making her feel uncomfortable. ## Key takeaway Wife plans to work after first baby despite criticism that she's an unfit mother.