The Quiet Cost of Motherhood Today being mother's day, I found myself thinking about motherhood, not only in human beings, but across nature itself. I came across flamingos, whose bright pink feathers begin to fade while nurturing their young because so much of their energy and nutrients are redirected into feeding their chicks. I read about rabbits pulling out their own fur to prepare warm nests before giving birth. Across species, motherhood seems to come with a quiet surrender. A giving away of the self so that another life may continue. And suddenly, human motherhood did not seem so separate from the rest of nature. We often speak about birth as though it is the finish line. As though motherhood begins and ends in a delivery room. But giving birth is only the opening chapter. Motherhood stretches into sleepless nights, postponed dreams, changing bodies, financial burdens, emotional exhaustion, invisible fear, and the constant responsibility of shaping another human being. Some women lose their hair.…