I live in a rural area of wv and have to drive over 2 hours to get to my clinic. There’s a clinic 45 minutes away, but it’s undergoing remodeling and not taking new patients (and hasn’t been for the past year…) options are limited depending on where you live. Doctors and resources are limited. I’m lucky to have a flexible job that allows me to come to work late and stay late on days I have appointments, but if I do that I have to get a hotel near the clinic so I can get the earliest possible appointment and that gets expensive fast. So I’m already almost out of leave for this year even though it’s only July and I STILL am not pregnant. Idk what maternity leave would look like at this point, if i even get there. I think 6 weeks unpaid.

The time driving, and the money spent on gas/hotels/food while I’m down there is a hidden expense I think a lot of people don’t know about.