If the Trump administration wants to encourage women to increase the birthrate in America, there are ways to do it.
We could create a culture that values women’s decisions to have a family.
That might be what proposals being bandied about are intended to do. A $5,000 cash bonus to mothers seems like a nice thought. Suggestions of making IVF more affordable or even free? Sure, that could be helpful for some.
But the things that would really help are right out there. We aren’t hiding them. There is no treasure map to find the big chest of golden suggestions marked with an X.
Women have been asking for what we need for years.
If you want women to have babies, make it affordable to have children. That $5,000 might sound great on paper, but, if you have ever had a child, you know it isn’t.
The average cost of birth and pregnancy care in the U.S. is about $19,000, according to health policy organization KFF. A cesarean can bring that over $26,000. If you have good insurance, you might be on the hook for just $3,000 or so. If you don’t? Well, that $5,000 “bonus” won’t cover much.
That puts the American dream family of two kids at about $40,000 to $50,000. But if you are looking at getting the National Medal of Motherhood proposed in draft orders for moms of six or more kids, that’s going to top $120,000 to $250,000. And that’s for those who didn’t need help getting pregnant.
But what about the cost to being a mother?
There is the obvious impact on earning. Some women don’t have children because they can’t afford to take the time off work to give birth, heal and spend crucial time bonding with their children when the U.S. has no paid maternal leave. Yes, there is the Family and Medical Leave Act, but the 12 weeks provided there are unpaid. If your employer doesn’t meet certain requirements, such as a minimum of 50 employees, it doesn’t apply.
Canada gives 16 weeks leave at half pay. Mexico offers mothers 12 weeks leave at full pay. Bulgaria gives more than a year at 90% pay. There is a wide range of possibilities to implement, but the U.S. remains one of only seven United Nations members that does not have paid parental leave.
There could be job protections for women returning to work after childbirth or leave. There could be better protections for pregnant women in the workforce. The U.S. could address the way inadequate childcare affects families. There is more attention on the child tax credit and potential expansion.
And let’s not overlook education. We cannot expect to increase the birthrate and not proactively provide for more kids to be in school. Is the federal government going to fork over cash to school districts to build more buildings?
These are not issues to brush over while talking about infants like every woman can be swayed with a bout of baby fever. We cannot be shown a squishy newborn with that new baby smell and get distracted by a “bonus” like a guy in a midlife crisis being swayed by the no-money-down deal on a sports car.
Some women don’t want babies. Some don’t want one now. Some want to control the number of children they have for the good of their families or for their own health.
If you want women to feel comfortable having families, then having families has to be a decision. It can’t be an “act now!” offer like buying a mattress on a holiday weekend. It needs to come from feeling supported in making the decision and over the course of the pregnancy and the parenthood.
And if that needs to be explained, then motherhood is not being valued.