Women Fought For This”: Mom’s Video About Challenges Of Being A Working Mom Splits The Internet
Being a modern mom isn’t just hard — it’s exhausting. You’re expected to juggle it all: running the household, raising the kids, showing up for work, and still delivering a “perfect” performance in the office. No wonder studies show over 9.8 million working mothers in the U.S. are struggling with burnout, crushing childcare costs, and lack of proper mental health support.
One mom recently went viral after posting a raw, emotional video of herself crying at her desk. Why? Because instead of being at home to see her baby daughter sit up for the very first time, she was stuck watching it on a baby monitor from the office. That moment hit a nerve — and the internet exploded.
Her story turned into a heated debate online. Some people argued this was yet another example of how broken the U.S. maternity leave system is, with most moms forced back to work before they’ve even healed physically or emotionally. Others questioned whether this is what women’s rights and feminism were supposed to deliver — more “opportunities” that often feel like more pressure, less time, and a never-ending cycle of work-life balance struggles.
At the end of the day, moms need more than motivational quotes. They need affordable childcare, better family healthcare policies, flexible work options, and parental leave laws that actually make sense. Until then, more women will keep reaching breaking point — and more viral moments like this will keep exposing just how tough it is to be a mom in today’s world.
A young mom, Brooke, shared how heartbreaking being a working mom in the U.S. can be
Image credits: adayinaeats
Instead of witnessing her daughter’s milestones in person, she’s forced to experience them through a monitor at work
Image credits: adayinaeats
Brooke’s video quickly went viral, garnering 690k views
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7529965634726169870?lang=en-US&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.boredpanda.com%2Fworking-mom-missing-baby-milestones-adayinaeats%2F
Image credits: Rene Terp / Pexels (not the actual photo)
“It felt like someone took my heart and pulled it from my chest,” Brooke describes how she felt in that moment
The mom behind that viral tearful video is Brooke Lipps, better known online as @adayinaeats. She’s a 25-year-old sales development rep from Texas, and mom to baby Taylor, who’s now almost nine months old and often shows up in her other videos.
Brooke told Newsweek that before motherhood, she always pictured herself as a career-driven woman. But everything shifted once Taylor arrived. “My baby came, and my whole world changed; I changed,” she admitted.
What she didn’t expect was just how painful it would feel to leave her newborn at home for work. In her words, “It felt like someone ripped my heart out of my chest.” That raw emotion is exactly what viewers saw in the viral clip.
Brooke explained that she watches Taylor fall asleep and wake up through the baby monitor every single day just to feel like she’s part of those moments. And when her nanny texted her that Taylor had just sat up for the first time—Brooke broke down. She was so proud, but also devastated she wasn’t there in person.
She went back to work when Taylor was just four and a half months old, because like many families, finances left her little choice. Her husband works full-time while attending graduate school, so the family relies on a nanny for childcare. That day was no different—the nanny kept sending updates, including the milestone Brooke missed.
Now she battles constant mom guilt, questioning if she’s making the right call. Should she stay home and risk falling behind in her career? Or keep working and accept that she’ll miss milestones, even though it provides financial stability and healthcare security for her family?
As Brooke herself put it: “I wonder daily if I’m making the right choice and if it’s worth it—or if staying home, even with the financial strain, would make me a better mom.”
Her story is one so many working mothers in America can relate to, especially with rising childcare costs, lack of paid maternity leave, and the pressure to balance career and family financial planning all at once.
Image credits: Dasha Halepova / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Brooke is also advocating for stronger support for mothers and fathers postpartum
On top of working full-time, Brooke says she’s also the one who takes care of the house and the baby after she clocks out. “I feel spread ultrathin. There’s just not enough of me to go around,” she admitted to Newsweek. “I’m doing a lot, but not doing it all well—or at least that’s what the judgmental little voice in my head keeps telling me.”
And honestly, she’s not alone. Being a modern working mom in America feels like running on fumes. A study by Welch’s found that moms juggle the equivalent of 2.5 full-time jobs between career, childcare, and housework. Add to that the brutal reality that in Texas there’s no state law requiring employers to provide maternity or paternity leave, and you start to see why so many women feel burned out.
The only safety net is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)—but not everyone qualifies. Brooke and her family didn’t, which meant that for nearly five months after giving birth, they had to survive on just her husband’s income. Between childcare costs, medical bills, and daily expenses, that financial stress was overwhelming.
That’s why Brooke is now speaking up. She wants other moms to know their options and is pushing for paid family leave laws and stronger parental benefits from lawmakers. “I wish it were standard to get paid leave, not just FMLA’s unpaid 12 weeks,” she told Newsweek. “Most families can’t afford to go three months without a paycheck, especially when you’re young parents still figuring it all out.”
She admits her own employer has been supportive, but she knows not everyone is as lucky. “I just wish workplaces actually embraced mothers and pregnant women instead of treating us like we’re a burden or don’t belong. At the end of the day, babies need their mothers, and moms need real support.”
Image credits: Sarah Chai / Pexels (not the actual photo)ADVERTISEMENT
U.S. parental leave laws are seriously lagging behind the rest of the world
Everybody loves to complain about how broken the U.S. healthcare system is, but when you look at parental leave laws, it hits even harder. Sure, parents who qualify for FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) can take 12 weeks off—but here’s the catch: it’s unpaid. And believe it or not, America is the only OECD country without a national paid family leave policy.
Meanwhile, other countries treat new parents with way more support. In Estonia, moms actually get their full salary for the first 18 months of their baby’s life, and then reduced payments until the child turns three. In Austria, expecting moms are required to take leave eight weeks before birth and another eight after, with a full-rate equivalent (FRE) salary for 49 weeks. That’s nearly a year of paid maternity leave benefits.
It doesn’t stop there—Japan offers 36 weeks of FRE, Sweden 35 weeks, Chile 30 weeks, and Iceland 18 weeks. Even countries like the UK and Mexico guarantee 12 weeks of full wages, and Australia provides 8 weeks paid leave. Compare that with the U.S.—where most moms get nothing but unpaid time off—and it feels like a bad joke.
Some states have tried to step in: California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, and D.C. all have their own state family leave laws. But for the rest of the country, the numbers are rough—only about 60% of workers even qualify for FMLA, and since it’s unpaid, a lot of families can’t afford to use it anyway.
So while other countries are covering healthcare costs, child care expenses, and lost wages, American parents are left choosing between their baby and their paycheck. That’s why advocates are calling for stronger employee benefits, healthcare reform, and paid parental leave policies—because raising a child shouldn’t mean financial ruin.
“The U.S. needs to figure something out,” commenters reflected on the absurd current situation
