Rapper Cardi B was set to begin her life on the road as part of Bruno Mars’ XXIVK Magic tour on Sept. 7, only two months after she gave birth to her daughter, Kulture. However, yesterday, Cardi released a statement on Instagram announcing her decision to pull out of the tour due to concerns regarding her and her baby’s health and well-being.
“As of today I’ve decided I won’t be joining Bruno on tour this Fall. I thought that after giving birth to my daughter that 6 weeks would be enough time for me to recover mentally and physically,” she wrote.
“I also thought that I’d be able to bring her with me on tour, but I think I underestimated this whole mommy thing,” she continued. “Not only am I not ready physically, I’m not ready to leave my baby behind since the doctors explained it’s not healthy for her to be on the road.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Blty-U8BWzI/?hl=en&taken-by=iamcardib
While, thankfully, Cardi B is able to make the decision to take time away from her work to focus on being a mother, unfortunately, not many women are able to make that same choice, and that’s a huge problem.
According to census data, a majority of all new mothers go back to work before 12 weeks; and an astounding one in 10 will go back to their jobs in four weeks or less after having a baby.
There are more specific disparities when looking at how new mothers’ wealth and education levels also impact their ability to take maternity leave. While 66 percent of new mothers with a bachelor’s degree were able to receive paid maternity leave, only 18 percent of mothers with only a high school diploma received paid leave.
To the detriment of their health, mothers who do not have the wealth and opportunity that Cardi B has are unable to take the same time away from their careers to spend crucial time engaging in the experience of motherhood.
According to the Huffington Post, the United States is the only major country that offers no federally regulated paid leave for new mothers, which can lead to serious damaging effects on both mothers and children. The health of both mother and child are improved when mothers have appropriate maternal leave, but most mothers are not able to take time off due to economic and professional concerns.
It’s amazing that Cardi B is able to take the time that she needs to take care of her health and Kulture’s as well, but it’s important to note the economic considerations that allow her to be able to do that.
Cardi’s career is still going strong, with her music charting well; she’s also been able to accumulate a lot of wealth quickly, so she’s not likely to suffer financially as a result of taking time off from touring. But most mothers don’t have millions of dollars to fall back on.
Cardi B should be praised for making this decision for her and her family, but let’s not forget the millions of mothers in the U.S. who are still fighting for their families’ wellbeing too.
