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Today’s episode is part two in our series about how America is failing mothers. If you missed part one, you can tune in here.
In this series I’m airing real stories that mothers in America have sent in, sharing about their experiences during pregnancy and postpartum. Part two highlights parenting during COVID, lack of maternity leave and health insurance, unfair pumping environments at work, postpartum depression, rage, and anxiety, and more.
You’ll hear from women who are sharing from the lens of mothers, employees, small business owners, mental health professionals, and more. It’s clear that so many women in America are not receiving the support they need from their doctors or their careers.
I hope this episode makes you feel less alone if you are facing these challenges. Mothers should not have to struggle to pursue the careers they want to, while also supporting their family and bonding with their babies.There are things that can be done to make real change, and together we can make a better world for the generations to follow.
In this episode we discuss:
- The extreme challenges that families are presented with when paid maternity leave is not available to them.
- The lack of support and guidance in women’s mental health during the postpartum period.
- Unfair treatment at work due to a need to pump.
- The challenges that you’re faced with as a parent when your baby has colic.
- Some positive things that are happening in Washington State in regards to maternity leave.
- Possible solutions for these issues that mothers are facing.
Resources:
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Quotes:
“I didn’t have access to a single day, or dime, of maternity leave.”
“It’s such an interesting thing to be a mental health professional and see so clearly how you’re not able to take care of your own mental health needs because of financial restraints, and because of the realities of how systems are set up.”
“I felt like such a failure. Everyone else was a better mom than I was, they weren’t struggling as bad. Why couldn’t I just figure this out?”
“Three weeks after I went back to work, my company had pretty big layoffs and I was let go…as was every single woman on my team. They stripped us of our health insurance almost immediately and gave us no severance.”
Questions:
What challenges have you been faced with as a mother in America?
Are the other women in your life facing the same challenges as you?
What can we do to make real change for mothers?
How did you know that you were experiencing postpartum rage?
How did the pandemic affect your pregnancy and postpartum period?
What was it like to have a baby with colic?
