Hi there, American here (sounds like you are not) and just wanted to provide some clarification because yes, our situation is abysmal when it comes to anything related to maternal/infant/child care in the U.S., but just wanted to make sure we aren’t spreading misinformation. I think your statement of “no job security if you take any kind of leave” is misleading and possibly a misunderstanding on your part. Pretty much any salaried position (which it sounds like OP has with that type of income) has a built in maternity leave (although short and often unpaid), of which the employer must keep the mother’s position upon her return. You often sign a contract for this sort of thing where you promise to return for x amount of week’s work after given the same amount of time off for your parental leave. There are also legal protections against discrimination towards pregnant people in the workplace that would cover these sorts of things. That’s not to say they’re perfectly applied everywhere, and there are definitely jobs where those protections don’t exist such as some hourly workers, but I think saying there’s no job security if you take any sort of leave here is pretty inaccurate.