Parenthood is a hell of a thing. To say it completely changes your life is sort of underselling it. Jordana Brewster, who is returning to the Fast and Furious franchise next month in F9, knows all too well as she has two sons. The actress became a mother using a surrogate after several attempts at IVF did not work out. It's because the actress did not actually carry her children herself that she ended up not taking any maternity leave when they were born, a decision she now regrets.
Jordana Brewster recently explained to Insider that when her children were born, she decided to go right back to work rather than take time off for maternity leave. Because she simply felt that, because she didn't need to recover from giving birth, it was something that she didn't need or even deserve. According to Brewster...
I was like, 'No. No, I don't deserve maternity leave, I'm not carrying... It's going to be OK that I'm going to go back to work. I just sort of took it for granted that that was something I needed at the time.
It's at least understandable why Jordana Brewster felt this way initially. Certainly part of the need for maternity leave is that childbirth is, at the very least, exhausting, and can also lead to numerous other health issues. As such, women who have given birth needs time to recover physically and emotionally. Brewster did not need to go through this, and so she thought maternity leave was not for her. She seems to feel she would be somewhat selfish, taking the same time that others need because they have been through childbirth.
However, looking back, Jordana Brewster says she regrets not taking that time. She wasn't less of a mother simply because she had not given birth physically, and because she did not take the maternity leave time, she missed out on the other reason its important: spending quality time with one's child. Brewster goes on,
I would advise moms that are going through something similar, not to cheat themselves out of that because you're not less than. I felt like I was less than in some way, which is really sad as I look back at that.
Becoming a mother is no small feat regardless of the circumstances, and Jordana Brewster understands that now and wants other women who might find themselves in the same situation to not make the same mistake she now feels she did. Jordana Brewster isn't only a mother in real life, she also plays one in the Fast & Furious franchise. The actress will return to the series in F9 after taking the previous entry off, a sort of in-universe maternity leave perhaps.
