Earlier this week, the New York Times reported a number of ideas that the Trump administration was exploring to help reverse America’s declining birthrate—including a “National Medal of Motherhood” for women with six or more children, menstrual tracking classes in schools, a national fertility messaging campaign, and a $5,000 “baby bonus” for every new birth. The goal? To boost America’s declining birthrate by celebrating and incentivizing motherhood.
I have five kids myself, and why I think every mother, regardless of family size of circumstance, is worth celebrating, the notion that a symbolic gesture is enough to boost the birthrate is insufficient at best—and insulting at worst. American mothers are in crisis, but they’re not asking for applause. They’re asking for support.
👉 Here’s the full New York Times piece that kicked off the debate.
Honoring moms—or distracting us?
Yes, honoring motherhood can be beautiful. But when medals come without policies—without paid leave, affordable childcare, or access to maternal healthcare, which are policies that up to 92% of American mothers support—it feels less like celebration and more like misdirection. As if giving moms a gold star can distract us from the broken systems they’re navigating daily.
What families actually need
Here’s what’s happening in the real world:
- Childcare costs can top $20,000 per year per child.
- The U.S. still has no national paid family leave.
- Millions of hourly and low-wage workers are locked out of basic benefits like paid sick leave.
- America’s individualistic culture makes parents in nuclear families feel like they’re failing for not being able to perform the services that an entire village used to provide.
- Life is increasingly unaffordable from parents—from housing, to groceries, to ballooning student debt payments.
And quietly, in the background? Programs that actually track maternal health—like the CDC’s maternal monitoring teams and PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System)—are being rolled back or defunded.
Related: 30% of maternal deaths happen after 6 weeks—but most are preventable
A symbolic “thanks” doesn’t pay the bills
Giving moms a medal while slashing maternal mental health support is like giving someone a trophy for running a marathon and then cutting the water stations.
We keep putting moms on pedestals—but doing nothing to give them the strength they need to go on.
Related: It’s 2021, but for American mothers, it’s still the 1950s
Real policy = Real progress
A true family-first agenda would include:
- Universal access to quality childcare
- National paid leave for all parents
- Insurance-covered fertility and postpartum care
- Employer flexibility that respects caregiving roles
- Sustained investments in reproductive and maternal health
These aren’t “nice-to-haves.” They’re the foundation of a functioning society. One where families don’t have to choose between having kids and surviving economically.
Mothers don’t need a medal around their necks, we need policies that have our backs.
Source
- Childcare costs. Citizen’s Committee for Children. 2024. “Breaking down NYC’s crisis as summer 2024 approaches.”
- The U.S. still has no national paid family leave. CAP. 2023. “The State of Paid Family and Medical Leave in the U.S. in 2023.”
- Programs that track maternal health. CDC. “PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System)”
- Programs that track maternal health are being defunded. Medpage Today. 2025. “Team Behind Critical CDC Maternal and Infant Health Dataset Axed.”