People who think maternity leave is a vacation have clearly never taken one. From sleep deprivation to the endless needs of the baby to the drawn-out mental and physical recovery, a new mom is hardly taking a break from reality like a (much-deserved) vacation would allow.
A video from Motherly is showing exactly what it’s like to navigate this precious time that moms both love and drudge through. Because as much as the time is “magical” per the video, it’s so, so hard.
In a nutshell, moms (and toddlers) never stop moving. If it’s not endless toy cleanup and cluster feeding, it’s catching up on sleep and emails or any number of other household chores.
While maternity leave looks different for everyone, there are many similarities moms are navigating together post-pandemic. In their annual State of Motherhood survey, Motherly dug into the landscape of parenting for 2022.
One of the biggest changes in the last several years is that more women are wanting fewer children. The survey reports that 9% of women are less likely to want another child in 2021, compared to 13% for 2020. Sixty-eight percent say they are happy with one child, which is up 20% from 2020.
While 38% of moms share they feel burned out, 55% of stay-at-home moms report they feel this constantly or frequently. But there is good news on the horizon, as the survey pinpoints several ways women feel they could turn their sentiments around.
Forty percent of moms say support would help, with 30% believing that access to more resources would assist them in achieving a better work-life balance. With this in mind, 28% of moms firmly believe it’s time for policies and legislation to change, especially when it comes to paid family leave.
You can read the entire State of Motherhood survey on mother.ly.
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