First Shift Justice Project Book Club- Belabored by Lyz Lenz

Welcome back to the First Shift Justice Project book club. This month, I will be focusing on Belabored: A Vindication of the Rights of Pregnant Women by Lyz Lenz.

Belabored, like many feminist nonfiction books today, ties together components of cultural criticism, historical research, and direct memoir to argue that the societal status quo around pregnant people is unsustainable. Here at First Shift, we agree. In providing legal support to pregnant people and parents working in low-wage jobs, whether they face discrimination, issues with leave, or even need help coordinating their benefits, we hope to help alleviate even a small part of the burdens that bear down on people that give birth.

Lenz breaks down the book into four sections to mirror the four trimesters of pregnancy, taking care to center the pregnant person’s experience first and foremost. I was most struck by the way she details the death by a thousand cuts that pregnant people face to their autonomy, both

bodily and emotional, when discussing the guilt she felt following a miscarriage her then-husband attributed to her main, outside-the-house hobby– running. She says, “if a pregnant woman were to avoid all unknowns, she would be locked in a quiet closet listening only to Mozart– and mom blogs would still debate how harmful the light coming in from the crack under the door is. And how selfish she is for not being more in shape,” (pg. 52). 

Many of our clients don’t have the luxury to avoid all physical activity when pregnant due to the nature of their jobs, but still face pressure from a society that finds every way to blame them if even the slightest thing goes wrong with a pregnancy outcome. Facing shame, criminalization, or even worse, we help clients find the strength to self-advocate for accommodations that protect their health and the health of their pregnancies. Finding a balance between the intense societal fragilization of pregnant women and the genuine need for calm and safety lies in letting the pregnant person themselves lead. At the end of the day, our clients know what they need and it’s our job, our honor even, to help them figure out strategies on how to get there. 

In one of her fourth trimester chapters, Lenz details the sorry state of postpartum care and patchwork of leave policies across the country, in her desperate plea to figure out what would move the needle to get society to truly care for parents and caregivers. She inveighs: 

Postpartum care in America is f*cked, and so are parental leave policies. And these inequalities disproportionately affect parents who are low-income and minorities. The solutions of storytelling and greater visibility only seem to raise the profile of well-off white women. 

What’s next? Is this where I offer policy solutions? Or tell you to keep your chin up, mama? Or maybe I post a picture of me with my cellulite, backlit so I look good when it goes viral?

Or, instead, is this where I tell us to stop making viral videos about how hard it all is and to start lobbying Congress to pass some parental leave because our nation is working hard to overturn Roe v. Wade in the name of saving babies but won’t let moms get a g*dd*mn night’s sleep? So many other women have made this argument and we didn’t listen. (pg. 176)

At First Shift, you can join us in advocating for protections that strengthen the gains we’ve already made on the part of pregnant and caregiving workers, like the DC Paid Family Leave insurance program, or step up to help move the needle in Virginia, as we do in concert with the “Paid Leave for All Virginians” coalition, to ensure workers there have access to the paid leave they need to truly support their families. While we can’t change everything that prevents pregnant people and caregivers from flourishing all at once, we can work together to make things better, one step (or state) at a time.

Thanks for reading! I hope you take the time to pick up Belabored and use it to get motivated to work alongside us here at First Shift. For the pregnant people and caregivers in your life, and for everyone!

By: Allison Tallering