New Zealand PM returns to work from maternity leave

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New Zealand Prime Minister and new mum Jacinda Ardern, only the second world leader to give birth while in office, resumed her duties on Thursday, ending six weeks of maternity leave.

The 38-year-old has opted to work from home in Auckland until the weekend when she will relocate to the capital Wellington.

In a Facebook message last weekend, Ardern said the family were doing "really, really well, still we have absolutely no routine to speak of."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, alongside her partner and her newly-born baby girl, attends a press conference, June 24, 2018, in Auckland. /VCG Photo

"Life is obviously going to be a little bit different," she added as she rocked her daughter Neve in a bassinet.

Ardern's partner Clarke Gayford, who hosts a television fishing show, plans to be a stay-at-home dad and the main caregiver for their daughter.

While Ardern announced her pregnancy five months before the birth, Benazir Bhutto – the first world leader to have a child while in office – told almost no one she was pregnant until her daughter was born in January 1990.

Unlike Ardern, who was able to take maternity leave, the Pakistani prime minister underwent a caesarean section and then returned to work.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during the 2018 budget presentation at Parliament, May 17, 2018, in Wellington. /VCG Photo‍

During Ardern's absence, her deputy Winston Peters led the country. She resumed control when he left overnight for an ASEAN foreign ministers summit in Singapore.

(Cover: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford pose for a photo with their newly-born baby girl Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford, June 24, 2018, in Auckland. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP