Our early female ancestors would never have been able to ensure their infants' survival if they hadn't had their wits about them, in conditions that were even more challenging than those in the statehouse. There is a degree of confusion in Kaminer's thinking here. She can't seem to decide whether the governor's job really is all that difficult. One detects a certain judgmental pique, aimed at a female who is not living her life in a manner that Wendy Kaminer approves of or would choose for herself. I am glad, however, that Kaminer had the nerve to make the controversial point that childbirth disproportionately affects women's bodies and emotions.
New mothers do experience powerful hormonal changes.
And for many, including myself, this new relationship often does take precedence over all other preoccupations. Men, by and large, just don't seem to be affected in the same way. Many want much more time with their newborns than their jobs allow. This forces them either to quit paid work altogether or to rush back to the office too soon, with tears in their eyes and a breast pump clutched in their hands. As far as I'm concerned, that is unnatural, if not barbaric, and American women are almost the only ones in the developed world who have to make such a cruel choice.