Yorkshire mum and former lawyer launches venture to help new parents return to work

A former criminal lawyer based in Yorkshire has launched a business to support parents struggling with their child’s sleeping patterns.

Lauren Peacock is the founder of Little Sleep Stars, a new company that uses web-based video conferencing to provide parents with bespoke sleep plans.

Its clients include professionals held back from returning to work due to their child’s challenging bedtime habits.

Lauren Peacock, who worked on thousands of cases ranging from speeding offences to murder and armed robbery during her 12-year career in law, has already supported more than 100 families in the UK, Europe and Middle East with her new venture.

She was inspired to launch Little Sleep Stars by her own experiences as a parent. When Lauren’s son was 11 months old she was still averaging just five hours’ broken sleep a night, which meant she wasn’t comfortable returning to the high-pressure environment of the courtroom.

Lauren said: “Returning to work after maternity leave can be a difficult time for mums. Women tend to take the lion’s share of parental leave and the change is often felt pretty acutely by both mum and baby.

“Of course, children adapt, but there can be a transition period where their sleep can be affected in the short-term, and it is common for night-waking to increase. It’s therefore particularly hard for mums who are trying to find their feet back in the work environment.”

She added: “Often, they don’t want to ask for allowances from their employer, but simultaneously are so tired, physically and emotionally, that they struggle to perform at the level they did before their maternity leave.”

Lauren believes it is this that prevents some mothers from returning to work after having a baby.

She continued: “There are some parents who don’t want to go back at all, but for those who choose not to return because they’re worried about juggling the pressures of their work and a child, it’s important for them to realise that it is in fact possible, and that it’s okay to ask for specialist help – beyond that of a friend or family member.”

Lauren also works with corporate clients on retaining, enabling and developing members of staff who are parents, adding: “The impact of parents not returning to work on businesses is huge. It means they lose highly-trained, experienced professionals, who can be difficult and costly to replace.”