Last month, I met a woman named Elizabeth. She shared a story that left me heartbroken—and furious.
Her daughter was rushed to the NICU immediately after birth and would remain there for six weeks. In those early, fragile days, Elizabeth faced an impossible choice: begin her limited paid leave right away, risking running out of time before her baby came home—or return to work within hours of giving birth, still in pain and recovering, just to save her leave for when she could finally be with her daughter full-time.
She chose the latter. She went back to work while her body was still healing, her newborn hooked up to a CPAP machine and under bilirubin lights. All so she could be there—fully present—when her daughter was finally released. It was a decision no mother should ever have to make.
As she spoke through tears, I couldn’t help but ask myself: *How is this still happening in America?*
The truth is, things are not okay for mothers in this country. We are one of the only nations in the world without guaranteed paid family leave. We have the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income countries—rates that are even higher for Black women. Child care costs more than rent or college tuition in many places, and millions live in child care deserts with no access at all. The cost of living keeps rising. Abortion bans are spreading. Investments in reproductive and maternal health are being cut, not expanded. And women are dying.
So what do we do? How do we keep going, keep hoping, keep fighting when the systems meant to protect us fail so profoundly?
At **Paid Leave for All**, the organization I lead, our answer has always been clear: *community.*
This Mother’s Day, in partnership with **MomsRising** and over 50 mission-driven brands, we’re building that community through action. We’re organizing the largest collective effort by businesses to give back to mothers in a single day. Called **“Pop Up for Paid Leave,”** this nationwide initiative will deliver more than $130,000 in mutual aid and free services—from diapers and formula to professional coaching, mental health support, and wellness care. Pop-ups across the country will offer food, self-care experiences, and most importantly, a space where moms feel seen, supported, and celebrated.
We know that what mothers truly need goes far beyond material support. It’s not about symbolic gestures like the “mom medals” reportedly being considered by the White House. What we need is real: affordable essentials, accessible postpartum care, and the dignity of knowing we can earn a decent living *and* raise a family. We deserve the freedom to build lives that include both work and care—something families in much of the rest of the world take for granted.
That’s why this isn’t just about giving back—it’s about keeping the fight for paid leave alive in the national conversation. Until our leaders reflect the realities of working families, we’ll continue to show up for each other, with care, with compassion, and with collective power.
And we’re changing the narrative. Instead of focusing only on trauma and statistics, we’re asking moms and caregivers to share their visions of what life could look like, with the security of paid family and medical leave. Their answers speak volumes:
> “Paid leave would have given me something priceless: more time with my baby after the NICU.”
> “Paid leave would give me emotional and financial stability—and the chance to have a second child.”
> “National paid leave would mean I could work where I want, not just where I have to.”
> “Paid leave would save my family.”
Can you imagine a world where you had the freedom to pursue your dreams—start a business, raise children, care for aging parents—without fear of financial ruin? A world where you didn’t have to choose between your job and your health, or miss a baby’s first smile or a loved one’s final moments?
I often think about how lucky I was, relatively speaking. I cobbled together a few weeks of paid leave, had family support, and had health insurance. Compared to the one in four mothers who return to work within two weeks of giving birth, or the countless others who can’t afford care at all, I was better off. But becoming a mother in America was still the hardest experience of my life. I returned to work long before my body healed, long before my baby slept through the night. And I’ve never been the same.
Still, this Mother’s Day, I’m choosing hope. I invite you to join me in imagining a different future—one where every person knows they have the right to paid leave, no matter where they live, who they love, or how they work. A future where you can care for your family and earn a living without sacrificing one for the other. Where you have the time you need to recover, to bond, to heal.
We stand at a crossroads as a nation. Will we build a society that protects and uplifts all working families—or one that serves only the wealthiest? Will we respond to falling birth rates with real solutions, or empty slogans and penalties? Will we invest in the care economy with policies like paid leave and affordable child care, or strip away what little safety net remains?
Elizabeth, thankfully, was able to use her state’s paid leave program to bring her daughter home from the NICU and finally hold her outside of the hospital lights. When we asked what paid leave meant to her, she cried—this time with joy. “It gave me the ability to be home with my daughter.”
This Mother’s Day, what else could we wish for—for *every* mother?
Paid leave for all.