Jenna’s Story:
My partner and I spent three years preparing financially to have a baby. We knew it would be a financial struggle and that we needed to finish our education and save as much as we could before the baby was born. We knew that even if our jobs granted any parental leave, it would not be paid. We also knew child care would be incredibly expensive.
When our baby was born (just a few weeks ago), I had been working part time as a Billing Administrator at a small health clinic. As I had expected, the job did not provide any paid leave. This contributed to my decision to leave that job when my baby was born, even though doing so has been financially difficult. The stress of not having income bears a great burden on my stress level, and I am very aware of the fact that each and every expense brings the total amount of time that I can be home with my baby down. If I had had the opportunity for paid leave this would not be the same stress for my family.
And when the money we managed to save up runs out and I am left to find a new job, we will be faced with the battle of finding a job that pays more than what daycare costs would be. This is no small feat. One can hope for a small miracle that I am able to swiftly find a decent paying position that allows us to invest in a daycare option that we feel safe leaving our precious cargo with for many hours of most days. No one likes the idea of other people raising their babies. And yet, so many Americans are given little choice in the matter when it comes to surviving and getting by without a system that values and supports its new parents.