The Cognitive Dissonance of Modern Motherhood
On reconciling my maternal instincts with a world that dismisses and denies them
I feel like an idiot.
The HR director at my job has just informed me that there are no paid maternity leave options, but that I’m entitled to 14 weeks of unpaid leave under the FMLA. “Entitled?” I think but do not say aloud.
Later, I learn that the law was specifically enacted so that women who take time off to give birth and subsequently care for a newborn don’t lose their jobs. But there is no way we’re going to pay them for that shit.
The HR director tells me I also will be “entitled” to six weeks of disability pay, about 60 percent of my paycheck, following the birth of my child. Later, I learn that six weeks is the amount of time that women typically need to physically recover from the act of labor. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the needs of the newborn.
When women are no longer “disabled,” of course, they can’t be expected to take free money for just sitting around with a baby.
I should have done my research, should have asked these questions sooner. I’m already pregnant, have only meager savings, and can barely afford six weeks at 60 percent pay, not to mention eight subsequent unpaid weeks. I…
