There’s no doubt about the fact that motherhood is an incredibly taxing experience. The level of “taxation” depends greatly on the mother and her wiring for the job. And there are other factors, like whether or not she was/continues to be a career woman, whether or not she always wanted to be a mother, and whether or not she has a solid support system around her. (Yes, I KNOW I’m completely oversimplifying this and leaving out a host of other elements – especially those related to medical/hormone issues, etc.