Copy linkEmailFacebookWhatsAppXLinkedInBlueskyThreadsImpact Link
SaveSaved
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider
subscribers. Become an Insider
and start reading now.Have an account? .
Two weeks after giving birth to her son Gene, comedian Amy Schumer was back on stage. Now, five months after his birth, she's opening up about her mixed feelings about returning to work as a mom.
2019-10-07
"It's felt good to be back at work," she wrote on Instagram on Sunday. "I was so worried about it and was afraid to go back after he was 3 months old. A couple days I've cried from missing him. But it's mostly good to be back and the breaks energize me to be a better mom and appreciate our time even more."
Other celebrity moms praised Schumer for bringing attention to the complicated feelings returning to work as a new parent can bring. Christy Turlington Burns, a model and founder of the nonprofit Every Mother Counts, thanked the comedian for being a strong example "of motherhood and support."
A post shared by @ amyschumer on Oct 5, 2019 at 7:54pm PDT
Debra Messing weighed in, saying that when she was on Will and Grace, she was able to breastfeed her baby on set, but if she had a live show her "body hurt from his absence." "It's hard being a working mom," she said. "But I believe we are better mom's when we arable to do what fulfills us."
And Drew Barrymore added her own story, assuring Schumer that "after time, things fall into the new place."
The US is the only developed country with no mandated paid maternity leave
Schumer, estimated to have made over $37 million in 2017, acknowledged in her post that she has it a lot easier than many people — and yet, she still doesn't feel supported, which means the reality is even more dire for the average American mom.
While the Family and Medical Leave Act gives new moms 12 weeks of leave for a new child, that's unpaid. Plus, it doesn't apply to about 40% of American workers, including those who work for companies with fewer than 50 employees or who've been at their company for less than one year, according to resources compiled by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
In fact, only 14% of American workers and 5% of low-wage workers have access to paid leave, and one in four women return to work within 10 days of giving birth, according to ACOG.
Add BI in Google so our reporting is easier to find when you’re searching for what matters.
Every other developed country in the world requires employers to offer paid leave for new mothers, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. New moms in Canada get a year of paid leave while those in Finland can still get a paycheck without working up to three years after having children, the Washington Post reported.
Doctors recommend women take time off of work, ideally paid, to let their bodies heal and bond with their babies.
iStock
Many American moms experience anxiety and stress when returning to work
Sarah, an associate attorney in a small and male-dominated firm, had only two weeks of paid leave and another four weeks on short-term disability earning 60% of her pay.
"It was very stressful, especially since it was my first child," said Sarah, who asked that her last name be kept private because she still works for the company.
Her employer also refused her request to work from home for her first month back, after which her husband would be able to stay home with their son for a few months. "I had to leave him in the care of a daycare provider I had never met before when he was six weeks old and only weighed ten or so pounds."
Courtney Flantzer, who runs her own public relations company, told Insider she had no choice but to return to work quickly. She event answered client emails during the first few hours of labor — after an epidural.
"It was a very anxiety-filled time," she said. "I didn't know how to be a mom yet, I was recovering from the craziness that is childbirth, and desperate to keep my clients happy."
Flantzer emphasized that she's fortunate, and that she and her husband had all the help they needed. Low-wage workers are more strapped. with 93% lacking access to paid leave, according to CLASP, a nonprofit that advocates for policy solutions for low-income people. Those who take unpaid time risk losing their jobs.
It's not a choice moms should have to make, according to CLASP, since not taking time off is risky too: When parents can't afford to take time off, infants may miss critical doctor's appointments and risk less-than-optimal cognitive and social development.
Anna Medaris is a health correspondent at Insider with more than a dozen years of experience covering women's health, fitness and nutrition, sex and relationships, medical conditions, and psychology. At Insider, she mostly focuses on reproductive health, mental health, and medical misdiagnoses. She also writes wide-ranging features, narratives, and analyses on sensitive topics including addiction, maternal suicide, and accidental deaths. Anna loves dissecting quirky, cultural trends too, like cold-water swimming, White Claw, and water-cooler chatter. Prior to joining Insider in 2019, Anna was a senior health editor at U.S. News & World Report and, before that, an associate editor at APA's Monitor on Psychology magazine.She has also written for the Washington Post, the Washington Post Magazine, Women's Health, and Cosmopolitan. She regularly appears as a health expert on TV, including on the Today Show and Good Morning America.Anna serves as a writing coach for the New York Writing Room and is on the board of the Deadline Club, the New York chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Anna studied psychology and gender and health at the University of Michigan, where she graduated with high honors in 2009. She earned her master's in interactive journalism from American University in 2014. She's completed two marathons, four Olympic-distance triathlons, and one half-Ironman triathlon. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Email her at amiller@bjinnox.com.
