Women, all over the world, find that combining motherhood and fulltime employment outside the home poses something of a dilemma.

In Hong Kong, some policewomen resign from the Force because of the anticipated difficulties associated with combining active Police service and motherhood. But there have been many more who learned to cope with the additional stress and, despite the problems, enjoy a good loving relationship with their husband and child.

OffBeat interviewed three officers who accepted the challenge to carry on policing and asked them about their experiences. The three 'supermums' were: Woman Police Constable Ms Josephine Lau Wai-man, Woman Sergeant Ms Jerry Ma Pui-man and Woman Senior Inspector Ms Rita Hung Chui-yee.

All three agreed that going back to work was not as easy as they anticipated. There is a vast difference between working a nine-to-five regime in a commercial office and doing frontline policing in a city like Hong Kong.

Josephine is currently with the Crime Wing and has a nine-month-old daughter, Sze-chit; Jerry is now with Hong Kong Island Missing Persons Unit and has a seven-year-old boy, Jeffery; and, Rita is a Road Safety Officer with Hong Kong Island (Traffic) and has a five-month-old daughter, Celia.

All three admitted to a nagging sense of guilt at leaving the mothering of their babies to someone else.

"Policing, particularly frontline policing, has its own inherent stresses which, in the interests of the officer and the public, must be efficiently and effectively managed," said Rita, "but work itself is not the sole source of stress for us."

The secret of success is enlisting the help of parents and siblings to baby-sit while you are on duty.

If there is no relative available to do it full-time, you will need a domestic helper.

Jerry said; "I was one of the lucky ones because, when Jeffery was very young, my mother-in-law lived nearby and cared for Jeffery. He had no trouble learning his mother tongue long before we moved to new quarters far away and, though my parents continued to visit, we had to hire a domestic helper. I am happy to say that we managed to get him into a prominent primary school partly, I think, because he also learned some basic English from the helper."

Josephine's sister was able to help for a few months but she is now in the process of hiring help and following Jerry's solution. Rita said that she really had no choice but to employ a helper right from the beginning and hoped that doing so would help with the child's English.

Rita emphasised that it was essential to have the unqualified support of capable, caring and helpful husbands. This is usually the case when the husband is also a policeman, or a member of one of the other disciplined services.

Some husbands, however, find it difficult to completely hide the fact that, deep down, they are not very happy at spending so many evenings, nights and holidays alone with their child. Rita explained: "Though my husband, who is a businessman, is supportive, I know that he worries a lot when I am on duty. That was especially so when I was with PTU and sometimes had to work very long shifts."

Jerry added, "When our children grow old enough to understand television news reports, they may see their mother in what they perceive to be a dangerous situation, and they worry. They may see their mother helping and even 'entertaining' children, and they feel jealous."

All agreed that it was very important to spend as much time as they could with their child and husband. There really isn't any time for hobbies that cannot be shared. In a way the challenge can strengthen family ties and bring out the best that's in you - both at work and at home.

Supermum WSGT Jerry Ma Pui-man and her family