Saturday, May 25th 2019
Billings Gazette
May 12 was a special Mother’s Day for me, having just given birth to my first child — Ruby — only nine weeks earlier. The first two months of motherhood have been an incredible adventure with highs and lows.
The challenges of motherhood have dimmed in comparison to the joy of helping Ruby navigate this brand new world; they have also been softened by the outpouring of kindness from others. Friends stopping by with home-cooked meals, family sending gift cards for last minute expenses, and kind neighbors taking a babysitting shift while I head to doctor appointments. Without our community of support, parenting would have been next to impossible these first few months of Ruby’s life.
From family and neighbor support to good policies that provide a safety net during the critical time period of pregnancy and early parenthood, Montanans understand that it “takes a village” to raise a child. However, without good policies in place, privilege and chance determine access to things like health insurance, reliable housing, paid family leave, affordable child care, and the ability to receive safe medical services for all pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage management, delivery or abortion.
Being able to spend these first two months with Ruby because of paid family leave offered through Forward Montana, the organization I work for, has allowed Ruby and me time to recover and bond.
While I’m grateful for this time, I know that most parents don’t have this option. In fact only 13% of Americans have paid family leave. Furthermore, the Family Medical Leave Act, which requires large employers to offer unpaid leave, only applies to 1 out of 3 Montanans. How many young Montanans can take unpaid time off work, while also paying down on debt and providing for a new child?
Every other industrialized nation offers paid family leave, and some states have been providing paid leave for over a decade. Paid leave programs support parents when they have a new child, and workers when they’re seriously ill or caring for a family member with a serious illness. Check out the “Time for Montana” campaign (timeformontana.org) to learn more about paid family leave and sick days in Montana.
Paid leave is only a starting point for re-imagining a system that supports families and addresses inequalities. The United States is the only industrialized nation in which maternal mortality rates continue to climb with Native American mothers dying at a rate 2.5 times greater than white mothers, and black mothers dying at a rate that’s 3.3 times greater than white mothers. A new study from the CDC indicates that 60% of these deaths are preventable.
From providing comprehensive health care and paid family leave to addressing racial bias in our health care system, it’s time we demand more for Montana’s moms and families. When Ruby and her generation are old enough to become parents, it will ultimately be the failure of our generation’s imagination and determination if their healthy start as parents is limited by their zip code, race, employer, or health insurance status.