Motherhood in the West: Why is it so hard?

And how can we make it easier

Before I had my son, I had envisioned motherhood would provide me with a permanent state of contentment, drunk on the bliss of my newfound higher purpose. I imagined slow mornings, the grass beneath my toes while my kid picked dandelions and only the waft of freshly baked banana bread enticing us back indoors. Idyllic right?

Ok, maybe I didn't imagine those exact things, but what I did not imagine was it to be so damn hard. Whilst my son is the joy of my life, being a mother is not for weak of heart. Initially I thought, maybe its just me, maybe I find it unusually difficult, whilst every other woman is flourishing beyond recognition in this sacred role. But one flippant comment from a family member, who herself is a mother of four, made me think otherwise. She casually stated; raising kids in the West is harder.

And it got me thinking. Why?

Why do women around the world tend to have more kids, whilst birthrates in the western world are decreasing. Whilst motherhood is challenging in whichever corner of the world fate dropped you in, there's something about motherhood in the West that makes you think you're in the thick of all out war all within the four corners of your home.