Reflection on these first days
In an October 2021 letter to then-House Speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and the senator. Chuck Schumer Explaining her support for mandatory paid parental leave in the United States, Meghan wrote that she was “thrilled” but “overwhelmed” when her daughter was born while the pandemic still prevented usual activities at hospitals, schools and more.
“Like fewer and fewer parents, we haven’t faced the harsh reality of spending those critical first months with our baby or returning to work,” she wrote. “We knew we could bring her home and, at this vital (and sacred) time, devote anything and everything to our children and family. We knew that by doing this, we would not have to make impossible choices about child care, work and medical care that so many people have to make every day.”
Meghan continued: “No family should be faced with these decisions. No family should have to choose between earning a living and having the freedom to care for their child (or a loved one, or themselves, as we would see with a comprehensive paid leave plan).”
