Being a mother in 2024 is no small feat. We live in the United States, which is one of nine countries worldwide with no paid family leave (noceilings.org/maternal-leave). The cost of everything is going up. If we work to help support our families we practically need to enroll in childcare before we even know we are pregnant due to a shortage of childcare and lengthy waitlists everywhere. If we can find childcare we struggle with constantly increasing prices. Many mothers understandably question whether working is even a sound financial decision with all this pressure.