If, after the calamity of the pandemic and the visciousness of the current administration’s deportation policies you are still lucky enough to have a mom in your life, you may want to think twice about meeting her in person for Mother’s Day.
Times are tough. Belts are tightening and resources are dwindling. Also, we’re in an era of every man, woman and child for themselves so making a buck is becoming particularly cutthroat.
Don’t be surprised if at brunch this weekend—the one meal you pay for out of the year— mom slips you a demand letter as she slides the tab your way. As a matter of fact, be wary of the server who in reality may be a process server waiting to slap you with a lawsuit seeking reimbursement.
Put aside, for a moment, the damages motherhood incurs. In addition to the pain and physical trauma of childbith, I’ve been told by some women that they’ve never been able to laugh quite the same as they did pre-baby. Pre and post partum urinary incontinence is a very real bonus the bundle of joy brings with it.
Exploring the dollars and cents of it all reveals becoming a mom isn’t cheap. One study showed that, with insurance coverage, the price of a C-section in California costs nearly $25,000 while a vaginal birth is almost $17,000. Granted, if you are fortunate enough to have decent health insurance the out-of-pocket costs fall to about $5,000 -$10,000, which is about the cost of two dozen eggs and a bag of imported avocados.
Are we sure those are tears of joy in the deliveryroom?
Four years ago the U.S. Census reported that women who have a child show a drop in earnings as they exit the workforce to have a baby but the pre-baby earnings gradually return over the course of a few years, bring their paychecks back to the level of where they had previously been.
Now factor in the guaranteed minimum 18 years of expenses in food, shelter, and clothing combined with the costs of mentl anguish resulting from late nights worrying to the physical stress of increased blood pressure caused by teens. We’re talking millions.
So don’t be surprised if after you giver her that $20 bouquet and $50 meal she comes at you with a bill to settle up for a lifetime of expenses. Mama has earned it.
