DEAR EDITOR: When I had my first child in 2014, I suffered from severe postpartum depression. My husband only had one week of paid leave and used his vacation time to take another week off after I gave birth, but without his support at home after those two weeks, my depression worsened.
I was already struggling with breastfeeding and needed to go to the pediatrician every day to make sure my son was gaining enough weight. After the two initial weeks of leave, not having my partner by my side was unbelievably tough. We couldn’t afford for him to take unpaid leave as I wasn’t working. Even though we saved and did everything we could to prepare for the birth of our son, we didn’t anticipate so many extra costs. The copays from going to see a lactation consultant and extra appointments at the pediatrician added up — adding additional financial stress during an already difficult period. My experience would have been dramatically different if my family had not been forced to choose between financial stability and emotional stability.
Senate Bill 188 would provide 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to all Coloradans and would prevent other families from going through the same difficulties mine did. Our leaders must pass paid family leave.
— Whitney Phinney, via
letters@SentinelColorado.com