This report investigates three key research questions relating to the care of infants in Ireland: the characteristics of those mothers who take up paid employment before their infant is nine months old, and when exactly they do so; the extent and nature of non-parental childcare for infants; and the association between childcare and infant health. The report uses a large sample of mothers and infants from the nine- month Infant Cohort of the national longitudinal study of children: Growing Up in Ireland.