Cardi B Fall Tour a ‘No Go’ as Singer Experiences the Pull of Motherhood

30 Jul Cardi B Fall Tour a ‘No Go’ as Singer Experiences the Pull of Motherhood

by Marisa Torrieri Bloom

Cardi B has discovered that motherhood changes “everything, everything, everything.” Like many of us, underestimated how hard it would be to bounce back to her music career post-baby — specifically that six weeks isn’t enough time to properly get back to work, mentally or physically. 

In YouTube and Instagram updates posted last week, the new mama announced that she was postponing her fall tour with rockstar Bruno Mars because she needs to focus on raising her baby. 

“Doing a tour with Bruno Mars at the biggest arenas…. I won’t be able to dance properly, do choreography … and my mind is so weird,” she said. “Postpartum shit, it’s real.”

Check out her full diatribe below:

On a personal note, I was practically rolling on the ground when Cardi says her baby is like “gimme the milk NOW!” 

Anyone who’s had a newborn can attest to this. 

Or, as Cardi B puts it, “There’s this feeling that as soon as the baby came out that I have … it’s like … I can’t leave my baby for one second.”

[RELATED: Cardi B Sets a Bar for Playing a Gig While Pregnant]

Fortunately for her, Cardi B is a zillionaire and can afford to take a break from her career. But so many mothers cannot. Maternity leave — or rather, paid maternity leave — isn’t a government-granted privilege.

Most employers don’t give nearly enough paid time off (if they give any at all) to employees. The women at my kids’ daycare, for example, typically only take two or three weeks off before they have to go back to work. Because they’re hourly workers, and not salaried workers, they don’t receive disability payments or any compensation for not working. As this article rightly pointed out, maternity leave is an elite benefit. 

“I respect mothers more than ever now,” said Cardi B in her video. “I see mothers differently.” 

Let’s hope Cardi B’s realizations can lead to some advocacy for the millions of Americans who aren’t offered a single day off work following the birth or adoption of a child, and the 1 in 4 new moms go back to work 10 days after childbirth, according to PL+US research. 

Marisa Torrieri Bloom is the founder and editor of Rockmommy.