Jessica Freedman Moved to Ashland While Pregnant, and Then the Pandemic Hit

Story By: Bruce Poinsette

Illustration By: Desarea Guyton

Jessica Freedman was already facing an uphill battle when she moved to Ashland from the east coast while she was pregnant. She and her husband had planned on relying on family to help out and then the COVID-19 pandemic put a major barrier in the way of that resource.

“My partner and I were pretty much on our own for the first few months,” says Freedman.

She admits she underestimated the toll her son would take on both her time and her body.

“[I] did not understand the meaning of full-time mom before I had a kid,” says Freedman. “My entire day is devoted to my kid.

“He’s like a little eating, sleeping machine right now.”

While she says the family has been able to keep costs down by cooking the now 14-month-old’s food and Freedman nursing the child, she notes that the physical impacts of nursing especially even out any financial savings.  

Like many, the pandemic has made juggling work much more difficult for Freedman and her husband. Prior to the pandemic, Freedman was already working remotely. Her husband, however, worked nights in the hospital system where they ironically had no plan for paternity leave for him. During the day, Freedman has to coordinate with her husband so she can schedule meetings. She often brings her son with her to run errands because there’s no other choice.

“There really are no breaks,” says Freedman. “Sometimes I feel like this is my new job and he’s my boss.”

Nonetheless, Freedman cherishes her time with her son. When she was growing up, her parents worked a lot and weren’t able to be around. She hopes to be more present.

As her son gets older, Freedman is also starting to contemplate daycare and future childcare costs, both financial and otherwise. Raising a son in Ashland, she can’t help but think about making sure he’s connected to his culture and has opportunities to engage with other children who look like him. One way Freedman is building infrastructure for this is through her work with Black Alliance and Social Empowerment, or BASE, a nonprofit community organization based in Ashland. The organization even has a program called the Afro Scouts for young Black children.

“I want to be around to have those conversations around race with him,” says Freedman. “The world demands we have these kinds of conversations with our kids earlier and earlier.”

In an ideal world, she envisions childcare where cost is not a barrier for anyone who needs it. She also would like to see more systems that emphasize “the village” taking care of children and provide opportunities for children to meaningfully socialize. Ultimately though, it all comes back to money.

“Right now, childcare is so privatized, it’s prohibitively expensive to have your child watched not by you,” says Freedman.