This report uses data from the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) longitudinal study to investigate the employment patterns of mothers during the first 5 years of their child’s life. The analysis draws on data relating to children in 2 birth cohorts: Birth Cohort 1 (BC1), children born in 2004/5 and Birth Cohort 2 (BC2), children born in 2010/11. Surveys were conducted when the children were aged 10 months, 3 years and 5 years, spanning the period 2005 – 2015.