Being a mom is a job all on its own. Adding in the complexities of finances, careers, school choice and other needs can influence whether someone decides to be a working mom or a stay-at-home mom. Each lifestyle brings with it different considerations, and each woman has to choose which path through motherhood is the right one for her. Here, we’re highlighting the stories of two Chattanooga-area moms — one who opted to keep working, and one who prefers staying home with her kids — to see why they made that choice.
Working Mom
Dr. Lacy Windham
In Tennessee, eligible new parents can take up to four months’ leave from work to be with their child, but because Dr. Lacy Windham, 46, was still in residency when she had her first child, she returned to work after about five weeks.
There are trade-offs that come with being a working mom, says Windham, a mother of three and an OB-GYN physician in Cleveland, Tennessee. You might not be there for every game or every performance, and you might not have the “magic equation” to balance it all, she says. But you do your best.