More moms are leaving their jobs at an unprecedented rate, a trend not seen in over 40 years.

More than 400,000 young American mothers left their jobs in the first six months of this year, according to a study by the University of Kansas.

WINK News reporter Sommer Senne spoke with moms in Southwest Florida about this trend. 

Many mothers cited the high costs of daycare as a primary reason for quitting.

They felt their entire paycheck was going toward daycare, making it seem like a waste of money.

However, this wasn’t the case for all mothers.

Haley Mitton-Baker had her little boy, Kaydence, at the end of December. 

Kaydence stayed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for fifteen days.

The experience was traumatic for Haley, and when her maternity leave was done, she decided to permanently stay home with her newborn.

“It was really important for me to establish that bond with my son, especially going through the traumatic experience that I did in the hospital,” said Mitton-Baker. “It’s a matter of, are you going to leave your infant at three months old? I feel like a lot of moms don’t want to do that.”

Missy Bouza, who lives in Cape Coral with her three kids, experienced significant stress from balancing work and family. She ended up in the hospital with stress-related stroke symptoms, prompting her decision to leave her job.

“It was just extremely eye-opening to me. I’m focusing so much on my work, and stressed out about getting the kids on time, but spending enough time with them and just trying to balance it all,” said Bouza. “There’s not going to be a lot left over at the end of the month, but bills are paid, and I get to stay at home,” she said.

Bouza and Mitton-Baker are among the more than 400,000 young American mothers who left their jobs in the University of Kansas study.

Emma Frost, a single mom with three kids, faced a different situation.

After spending too much time in the hospital with her kids, she was laid off in December and has struggled to find stable employment since then.

“I think doing this has been very difficult, and it’s been almost humiliating for me as a mom. As a mom, you feel like you want to have everything together as best as you can for your kids,” said Frost. “I think more so than anything, it’s moms are struggling. We’re trying to make ends meet. We’re trying to do good enough for our kids.”

Senne also spoke with Amir Neto, the director of FGCU’s Regional Economic Research Institute.

He pointed to the wage gap between men and women and the service industry jobs in Southwest Florida that are contributing locally to the trend.

“We are seeing more and more the return to the office movement, so some of that flexibility has been trimmed down, and that hurts the different groups differently. If moms are going to be the ones who are going to step up to be the stay at home parent, then they may be more likely to quit their jobs to do so,” said Neto.

Neto continued, “If we have a more inclusive labor market, through policies, through practices, we should see that gap close, and we should see everyone is better off.”

Despite the challenges, all the mothers Senne spoke with said that staying at home has led to happier children, making their decision worthwhile.