Mic Drop: Introducing The Balance Sheet
The stories that shape her world — every week.
We know, we know – after last week’s newsletter hinting at a new project, you’ve spent the past week on the edge of your seats.
Allow us to introduce The Balance Sheet.
Created by the Co-Founders of This is a MomBod, The Balance Sheet is a weekly roundup of news about women’s rights, parenthood, and the cultural, social, and policy shifts shaping it all. You are a busy and important person, so we’ll always keep it brief –– but absolutely essential.
Our first digest is published below and also at our new Substack, LINKED HERE. Be sure to subscribe there as well to receive The Balance Sheet every Friday in your inboxes. And don’t worry, our regular MomBod newsletter will still run, just with less frequency.
The Balance Sheet, May 24-30, 2025
POLICY
Illinois Lawmakers Really Bring It for Maternal Health: Illinois just passed two bills that support maternal health, and we are here for it. One allows certified nurse midwives to assist with home births, which is especially great for anyone living in a maternity care desert. The other bill mandates paid workplace breaks for mothers to pump breast milk for up to a year after childbirth. Now, let’s get those bills signed, Governor! Read more about it HERE.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says “Nah” to Recommending a COVID Shot for Healthy Kids and Pregnant People: The U.S. Health Secretary who says, “Don’t take medical advice from me, people,” announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant people. This decision is getting more than a little side eye from healthcare professionals who know the facts, but the MAHA Moms are tuning up their posterboards and thick Sharpies to make more big signs. Read more about it HERE.
Held Hostage by the State: Georgia’s War on Women Gets Uglier: Adriana Smith, a 30 year old nurse and mother, is brain dead, but Georgia won’t grant her family the choice of turning off life support. Why? A tangled mess of anti-abortion laws has left her body on life support, turning tragedy into state-enforced cruelty. To make matters worse, this blatant power play over women’s bodies has Black women, as usual, paying the highest price. Let’s be clear: this isn’t care or respect for life; it’s an assertion of control. Read more about it HERE.
MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH
Mama Knows Best: Hochul Steps Up for Moms and Babies: NY State Governor Kathy Hochul is coming in hot with some cold hard cash for moms and their little ones. She just dropped $1.6 million into boosting mental health services for people who are pregnant or postpartum—because yes, mental health matters. She’s also expanding Project TEACH (basically, a lifeline for maternal mental health support) to make sure new and expecting parents aren’t left hanging. Oh, and she made a proclamation, which most definitely makes it official, instituting a Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week—because moms deserve more than just flowers and freezer meals. Nicely played, Gov. We need more than a measly week, but still, we see you. Read more about it HERE.
Georgia Gets Real About Mom-Brain: Georgia’s finally saying what we’ve all been thinking: moms need more than just diapers and onesies—they need real mental health support. The state just rolled out the Maternal Mental Health Improvement Act, and it’s kind of a big deal. If it passes, insurance companies will have to cover mental health check-ins for pregnant people and new moms all the way through that foggy first year. Oh, and Georgia’s also thinking about turning May into Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month. This makes Hochul’s aforementioned Mental Health Awareness Week seem a little….weak. But we still love it. Anyway, Georgia, you’re a peach. Read more about it HERE.
The Moms Are Not Alright—and the Data Backs It Up: Newsflash (but not really to those of us living motherhood): A new study says moms' mental health has plummeted from 2016 to 2023—and spoiler alert, single and low-income moms are getting hit the hardest. The culprits? Crushing costs of living, zero support, and the same old sexist nonsense that keeps piling more on moms while tossing them a bouquet of carnations and a box of drugstore chocolates on Mother’s Day. Cute, but girl, please. This study just confirmed what feminists and moms have been screaming into the void for decades: we glorify motherhood, but totally ghost moms once the baby’s here. And now? It’s costing women their peace, their health, and their sanity. Mom-rage justified. Read more about it HERE.
THE TEA
Some other things that people are talking about this week…
Writer Abigail Leonard States the Obvious about U.S. Childcare: The book, Four Mothers, compares motherhood in four countries, and tells us that moms are not well-supported in the U.S., which most of us could have told you, and in fact we have been telling anyone who will listen for years on end, but if women need to shout about it more for someone to start caring, we’re here for it. Read more about it HERE.
Dude, Grow Up: The Patriarchy Is Playing Everyone: In a recent Modern Love podcast episode titled Why Boys and Men Are Floundering, relationship therapist Terry Real spills: the patriarchy isn’t just messing with women, it’s dragging men down too. According to Real, guys are stuck in outdated, emotionless norms while women are out there leveling up emotionally, doing the work, and asking for exactly what they deserve in relationships. His mic-drop moment? “I don’t want women to stand down from their demands; I want men to stand up and meet them.” Amen. It's not about women settling for breadcrumbs in 2025, it’s about men leveling up. Read more about it HERE.
Keep Your Medal. We Want Paid Leave: This isn’t super recent news, but it’s still creating a buzz. The Trump Administration recently floated the idea of a “Motherhood Medal” as an incentive to boost birthrates, because nothing says support like a shiny trinket instead of paid leave and subsidized childcare. Moms are calling it like they see it: tone deaf, insulting, and straight-up useless. Shockingly, polls show that women would prefer real policies that support happy and healthy families like universal healthcare, paid leave, and a livable wage. Read more about it HERE.
World Menstrual Hygiene Day –– it Happened: In case you missed it, May 28, 2025 was Menstrual Hygiene Day, an annual day of global awareness highlighting the importance of good menstrual hygiene. If you didn’t know about it, then now you do, which is good because it’s important. Read more about it HERE.
And, that’s a wrap for this week! Thanks for reading The Balance Sheet, and don’t forget to subscribe HERE!