‘It Feels a Bit Like Drowning’: Expectations and Experiences of Motherhood During COVID-19

In their article, “‘It Feels a Bit Like Drowning’: Expectations and Experiences of Motherhood During COVID-19,” May Friedman, Kori Kostka Lichtfuss, Lucas Martignetti, and Jacqui Gingras analyze maternal narratives collected from 80 mothers via social media during the pandemic. Their study identifies recurring themes of gender inequality in domestic labor, the collapse of work-life balance for employed mothers, and widespread feelings of inadequacy tied to internalized ideals of the “good” mother. The article critiques the patriarchal construction of motherhood as an ethic of relentless self-sacrifice, arguing that such norms set women up for failure, particularly under the intensified pressures of the pandemic. These pressures, the authors contend, were exacerbated by the absence of institutional support for families, which left working mothers especially vulnerable.

At the same time, the study documents maternal resilience and resistance, reframing mothers as frontline workers not only in public health but also in the affective labor of sustaining family life during crisis. The authors call for a narrative and policy shift: one that rejects reductive, idealized models of motherhood in favor of more complex and compassionate understandings. By foregrounding first-person storytelling as data, the article contributes to COVID-19 narrative scholarship and underscores the political stakes of how maternal experience is told, framed, and supported.