Culture Motherhood And Me: How Being A Mum Became More Demanding From maternity leave to the true cost of childcare, mum guilt and planning pick-up with military precision, seven working mums around the world get candid about the reality of juggling a career and a child. By Natalie Cornish Culture From maternity leave to the true cost of childcare, mum guilt and planning pick-up with military precision, seven working mums around the world get candid about the reality of juggling a career and a child. By Natalie Cornish Previous article ‘The Secret To Success Is Just Turning Up’ Next article As Nike almost said, Just Start It Working motherhood is still one of the biggest challenges a woman faces. In fact, research suggests that no matter how much we prepare ourselves practically – by taking parenting classes, investigating childcare options early and meticulously planning our return to work while pregnant – once baby arrives, the juggling act is harder than it has ever been.The New York Times summed up the pressures perfectly. “Motherhood became more demanding [in the last 20 years],” they wrote. “Parents now spend more time and money on child care. They feel more pressure to breastfeed, to do enriching activities with their children and to provide close supervision.” And, while shared parental leave is aiming to make responsibilities more equal, and fathers are playing a bigger and more active role than ever before, in reality the majority of this burden still falls on mothers. They’re often the ones who take unpaid leave when their child is ill, or dash out the door to get to pick-up on time. Best Of Future Women Culture “Never an excuse”: Why Katrina still can’t stand the smell of bourbon By Sally Spicer Culture Janine never thought divorce would mean losing her family and friends By Sally Spicer Culture “Invisible victims”: Why Conor was forced to live in an unsafe home By Sally Spicer Culture Miranda*’s mothers group helped her escape abuse. Then the stalking began By Sally Spicer Culture “We can’t change this on our own” By Melanie Dimmitt Culture “Marching forward means ensuring all our voices are heard” By Melanie Dimmitt Culture Dr Ann O’Neill’s husband committed “the ultimate act of revenge” By Sally Spicer Culture The question victim-survivors like me are tired of being asked By Geraldine Bilston Your inbox just got smarter If you’re not a member, sign up to our newsletter to get the best of Future Women in your inbox.
