No Maternity Leave in America: Why I Almost Had an Abortion

When I discovered I was pregnant, the first thought I had was

“I'm going to get an abortion.”

Even though I actually wanted to be a mother.

Why Would I Think That?

I had this thought because society tells us you should only have a baby if you're:

• Married

• A homeowner

• Financially stable

• Secure in your career

I was 30, but I had only been with the father a short while. My life before pregnancy had been a disaster because of trauma and alcohol abuse. I didn’t have a lot in my bank account.

These are the reasons people consider abortion.

But the thing that scared me the most?

We do not have any maternity leave in America.
Not paid. Not unpaid. Nothing.

What Was I Supposed to Do?

How could I:

• Heal from birth

• Bond with my baby

• And still survive... without a paycheck?

The average American has $1,000 in savings.

That would leave me two choices:

1. Return to work before I was healed

2. Burn through my savings during the 6 week postpartum recovery

That choice is no choice at all

What Motherhood Really Looks Like in America

Let's be honest about what it means to have a newborn here:

• Find dependable, safe childcare (that takes half your paycheck)

• Leave your baby while you are still bleeding, healing and emotionally raw

• Return to work sleep-deprived from staying up all night with a baby

• Pump during breaks at work

• Rush to pick up your baby

• Breastfeed

• Cook and clean

• Breastfeed

• Stay up all night

• Repeat

That's not fair to a new mom. And it's especially not fair to a voiceless, vulnerable baby who needs their mother more than anything.

It wouldn’t be fair on me as a new mother to go against her maternal instinct and leave my baby, and it surely would not be fair to place a voiceless, vulnerable baby with strangers at a daycare when she needed me the most.

Choosing My Baby

I chose to keep my baby and I am so grateful I did. Abortion would have been the biggest mistake of my life... and I wouldn't even have known it.

Even though a lot of people would have said having an abortion is the best decision in my shoes for the baby, the truth is:

Having a baby saved me.
I quit alcohol.
I quit nicotine.
I’m no longer depressed.
I have purpose.
And drive to go after my dreams.

The Shame We Carry

I still feel a lot of shame that I ever considered abortion because of money or because of what society tells us we "need" first.

Money should not determine if a baby gets to exist.

Having a child should not be a financial privilege reserved for the wealthy.

Because having a baby is the reason we are all here.
Everyone deserves to be a parent if they. choose without fear of survival.
It is a human right.

What I'm Fighting For Now

Now, I'm speaking up for:

• Women

• Mothers

• Babies

• Families

They say babies are a blessing—and that's true. Babies and children are one of the best parts about being alive. They make us:

• Slow down

• Live in the present

• Bring joy and fresh eyes to a tired world

Finding out you are pregnant should be a time of joy— not a financial crisis.

We Don't Make Room for Motherhood

In America, we've stacked the odds against mothers and babies.

We treat motherhood like a luxury, not a necessity.

We've made it nearly impossible to:

• Heal with dignity

• Parent with support

• Stay home without shame

No mother should have to choose between her baby or a paycheck

And for many families, if a woman wants to stay home, for only a few months, it means becoming a one-income household. That choice isn't easy for anyone in a country where most people can barely afford to live on two incomes.

Yet some families make that sacrifice permanently because they understand the value of a mother staying home and prioritizing her baby—even if that makes them a one-income household in a country that no longer supports it.

That shouldn't be the norm in a country as wealthy as ours.

No wonder birth rate has dropped.

Let me explain the absurdity women and mothers go through:

1. First we are told: “you shouldn’t have a baby until you are ‘ready’”

2. But when we get pregnant, we’re told: “that baby deserves life.”

3. Then once the baby is here, we hear: “you chose to have that baby, it’s your financial responsibility.”

What. Hypocrisy.

We treat babies like a private responsibility between two people, instead of what they truly are:

Future members of our society.

Raising the next generation is not a personal burden—it's a collective investment.

The Real Burden? The system

The saddest part of all, our profit-driven economy has made us view babies as inconveniences to productivity. Babies are not burdens—our lack of family values in America is the inconvenience taken from the care and attention babies need.

We're Having the Wrong Debate

It’s not about

• God’s will,

• A clump of cells,

• Men making laws

• Women's choices

The real issue is this:
We don’t value the mother-baby bond.

Pro-Life? Then Pro-Maternity Leave.

People who advocate for life say they care about babies. So why does that care go away once the baby is born?

Babies needs more than just to be born
They need to be:

• To be held

• To be loved

• To be breastfed

• To be bonded with

• To feel safe and secure by their primary caregiver, their mother

If you're not supporting that—you're not pro-life, you're pro-birth.

The Government Doesn't Care About Babies

The American government does not care enough about babies to keep them with their mother whom they 100% depend on for everything.

We fund:

• Wars

• Billion-dollar bailout

• Corporate tax breaks

But not maternity leave.

If we want to fewer abortions, we must support families (and even better, parental leave, for both parents to enjoy this wonderful time)

The Game Is Rigged

Right now, having a baby in America requires:

• Winning at capitalism

• Surviving trauma

• Navigating addiction

• Earning more than minimum wage, $7.25/hr

• Paying the average rent $1,400

• And affording $16,000/year for childcare

That's not a flaw. That's the design.

So Let's Ask the Real Questions

Why do we treat motherhood like something you have to earn?

Why do we tie a baby's future to whether their parents are "financially responsible" in a system that exploits them?

What We Deserve

It's time to:

• Bring back family values

• Normalize one-income households

• Guarantee parental leave

America must recognize that investing into our smallest unit—babies and families—benefits us all as a society.

Babies deserve better. Stand up for them.