France offers full coverage for prenatal and postnatal care, but young mothers get little help afterwards. In the US, things can be even worse

How new moms are supported – or not – in France v the US: a feminist cartoon

In France, thanks to our social security system, prenatal and postnatal care is fully covered in public hospitals. Wage-earning women are also entitled to a maternity leave of 16 weeks, with compensation ranging from €9,29 ($10.94) to €84,90 ($100) per day (according to how much they made before taking leave).

As for pregnancy and the weeks around childbirth, finances are no more a problem than outside this period: precarious households are still struggling, but not more than before, and well-off households remain well off.

If we look at how supported a mother is, however – well, nothing is planned to help the young mother. Paternity leave lasts only 11 days, which is not even enough for mothers to recover from childbirth. Young mothers must therefore manage the daily, non-stop demands of their new life while they try and heal.

They must also seek childcare, knowing that programs proposed by the state are not sufficient, especially in the Paris region.

The cost of child care varies greatly. In daycare centers, the less well-off households can get by for €1,000 ($1,177.59) per year – but there is only one place for every eight children.

Households therefore use private services such as childminders or home care.

For couples in the most precarious positions, childcare is so expensive compared with income that in 90% of cases a parent (usually the mother) stops working.

In the US, meanwhile, things are even worse. The average out-of-pocket cost of giving birth in a hospital was an eye-watering $3,400, according to a New York Times piece from 2013, which reported that the United States is the most expensive country in the world in which to give birth.

Costs vary widely in the US based on insurance type, state, and hospital. For those who do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford insurance, the average cost of pre-natal care can be in the thousands.

The US is the only developed country in the world without a federally mandated paid medical leave. As of 2017, there are just three states in the union that have programs requiring companies to provide paid maternity leave: California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

As for childcare – forget about it if you’re not well off. The average cost of full-time care in childcare centers for all children ages 0-4 in the United States is $9,589 a year, higher than the average cost of in-state college tuition ($9,410), according to a recent study from New America.

Nationally, the cost of full-time care in childcare centers is 85% of the monthly US median cost of rent.