It’s no secret that moms don’t always get a lot of support in the weeks after they give birth. My mom was glad that my sister was born on a Friday so that my dad could help for two days before he had to go right back to work. Not everybody gets extended (or any) maternity or paternity leave, so they have to rely on the «village» from the classic axiom «It takes a village to raise a child.» Often, this village comes in the form of in-laws, especially when in-laws live in the same area as you. One mother-in-law, who was not retired and lived 2 states down from his son and his son’s wife, was asked to be a one-woman village for her daughter-in-law but declined. The expecting mother wanted her to stay in a hotel for over a month and take care of her after the baby was born. The hotel request was what tipped it over the edge.