Posted on 02/27/2026 10:59:04 AM PST by Morgana
Former first lady Michelle Obama is coming under some criticism today for urging new moms to put their children aside and pursue a career.
Obama urged working mothers to pursue their passions outside the home, assuring them that their children would not be “broken” by the decision, while criticizing society for opposing abortion without providing adequate support for new mothers. Never mind that tons of government programs, private charities, as well as thousands of churches and pregnancy centers provide a whole host of resources for pregnant and parenting moms.
In a recent podcast episode of “IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson,” Obama responded to a listener’s question about balancing motherhood and career ambitions. She highlighted what she sees as societal hypocrisy.
“And I think we first have to understand that that is actually going on. You know, we don’t live in a society that fully respects and values childbirth. Like, we want people to have them – [‘don’t have an abortion!’]. But you know, we’re not really thinking about how do we create an environment for all women to be able to heal, be focused, and then make the decisions at the right time about when they’re ready to move on,” Obama said.
She complained about inadequate maternity leave policies in the United States, calling them “ridiculous.”
“Our maternity leave policy is ridiculous if you have to follow one, because most of it is three months, four months. I mean, that doesn’t even give a woman’s body time to fully heal,” she said. “Even if you’ve had a natural childbirth, let alone let your hormones stabilize, because your body is still saying, ‘I am feeding this child, literally breastfeeding.’ So your hormones are telling you to do one thing. And the societal structure is telling you to do something else.”
That’s what makes Obama’s comments about Mom’s putting their children aside to pursue the workplace so inconsistent.
Obama concluded her remarks on the inadequate support for mothers by saying, “I think we have to be honest that the system doesn’t work for us.”
She encouraged mothers not to feel guilty about returning to work, stating that children are more resilient than often credited.
“I think we have to tell ourselves that really, sometimes 40% is OK. Sometimes 30% is OK, sometimes 70% is OK, right? Because we talked about this earlier, the [children are way more resilient] than we give them credit for,” Obama said.
“You know, they’re not going to stop loving us because we leave the house and go do a job. It doesn’t work that way, you know. They aren’t going to be broken if Mom has a passion that she wants to pursue, but it’s hard to know that when your baby’s one,” she added.
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
She seems to have a lot of “hate” in her heart!
Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike whaaaahaa (in my best Gieco commercial imitation)
House Nagger
Why does this remind me of senators Cassidy and Tillis?
What kind of cretin would listen to any of the “wisdom” she dispenses?
Move on from childbirth? As in, once you have them, you can move on from raising them???
Anyone who listens to a single thing Michelle Obama has to say is a fool.
Kids need transgenders at public schools to “educate” them.
From a Wookiee that has never had a Real Job
You can have it all ... you just can’t have it all at once. My mom graduated college and became an award winning artist AFTER we kids were raised.
Same stupid ones that follow Oprah.
Stupid Mike- he doesn’t realize that all the fat single mom’s DON’T want to work! They want to sit on their butts and have .gov pay for them and their kids. Sheesh.
Big Mike is a loser in so many ways.
Stupid Mike- he doesn’t realize that all the fat single mom’s DON’T want to work! They want to sit on their butts and have .gov pay for them and their kids. Sheesh.
Or bang on the drum all day.
Big Mike would be wise to stay out of the news and just go back to Man’s World there in ShitCongo and see if he can rustle up another “sucker” as good as the last one. Spit.
Big Mike was/is a real motherf......
You first, Ms Finger Pointer!
Although, I can’t see Michelle working the cashier at your local Kroger or Applebees. She would want to sit down while working. Not all stores allow their cashiers to sit as they check things out.
Men will sacrifice their happiness for the family.
Women will sacrifice the family for their happiness 😌
Leave their kids at some learing center to be trafficked by the democrats .
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.