If you ask Olivia Cohen-Prue what she does in a day, the mother of two would have a lot to tell you.
“I think most parents realize that if you are around your children for a good amount of time, it is work,” said Cohen-Prue. “I don’t sit down.”
However, as a stay-at-home mom, she knows the perception is much different than her reality. When she left her career as a paralegal, she knew it was the right choice for her family.
“I knew I wanted to be home with my kid,” said Cohen-Prue. “I was also an older mom and I was an IVF mom, so I didn’t want to miss out on anything. I didn’t want somebody else to experience her first words; I wanted to be home for everything.”
A number of parents are making the same choice.
According to a study conducted by author Neha Ruch’s group Mother Untitled, research shows one in three working moms said they are likely to leave their jobs for stay-at-home parenthood in the next two years. Many, the study says, plan to re-enter the workforce.
“Realistically, what we’re seeing is just an ever-evolving continuum where women are dialing up and dialing down to make room for the varying needs of their personal and family lives alongside their careers,” said Ruch, author of the book “The Power Pause.”
Ruch chose to take a break from her career when she had her first child in 2016.
“I, who had just clocked in a decade in brand marketing and had just graduated Stanford Business School, when I announced I wanted more time with him, I felt the initial blows of shame and stigma around that choice,” said Ruch.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, day care costs in the United States have been rising rapidly, outpacing inflation. In New York, the average annual cost of infant care is $17,361; that’s $1,447 per month.
“To create sustainable careers, we need to be able to dignify all those stages and recognize that every mother is working,” said Ruch. “Every mother is mothering, and every mother deserves support and respect. And if we can reclaim this sort of inspiring respect for the work done in parenthood, the intellectual labor, the emotional labor, then parents can make room for family life without being penalized and shamed, and they can have more opportunity on the other side.”