Cardi B on motherhood: Baby comes first

Rapper Cardi B attends the Warner Music Group pre-Grammy party in New York this year. Photo / AP

Cardi B is at the height of her career, but this month hit the pause button to give birth to a daughter she shares with fellow rapper Offset.

Still, the Invasion of Privacy rapper had planned to join Bruno Mars in spring for the remainder of his 24K Magic World Tour.

Last week, she opted out.

"I thought that after giving birth to my daughter that six weeks would be enough time for me to recover mentally and physically," she wrote on Instagram.

"I also thought that I'd be able to bring her with me on tour, but I think I underestimated this whole mummy thing.

"Not only am I just not ready physically, I'm not ready to leave my baby behind since the doctors explained it's not healthy for her to be on the road."

Cardi is just the latest celebrity to open up about her expectations of motherhood and confronting the reality of the situation.

Many mothers in America have no choice but to return to their jobs soon after giving birth. Nearly a quarter of employed mums return to work within two weeks of giving birth, according to a 2015 report by nonprofit magazine In These Times.

Still, because of the wealth and fame that gives celebrities the best products, healthcare and nannies (or even nannies at all), it's easy to think famous women are also super-humans with perfect pregnancies, trouble-free deliveries and easy entry back to work. But even Serena Williams, one of the world's greatest athletes, faced life-threatening complications during labour.

Williams opened up about the scary moment, and even filmed an HBO docu-series about her pregnancy and return to tennis. Her experience also highlighted the fact that black women are more likely than white women to suffer from life-threatening childbirth complications.

Williams told the BBC "doctors aren't listening to us, just to be quite frank. I was in a really fortunate situation where I know my body well, and I am who I am, and I told the doctor: 'I don't feel right. Something's wrong'. She immediately listened," Williams said.

"Unfortunately, a lot of African-Americans and black people don't have the same experience that I've had."

Williams has also opened up about other challenges of being a working mother, including missing her baby's first steps.

Fans love to see stars get real and authentic, and being a tad rough-around-the-edges adds to the charm. Cardi B is the perfect encapsulation of this; much of her stardom has been driven by her adept approach to social media.

But even more private superstars have also taken time off and returned to the spotlight well after giving birth. Beyoncé, who gave birth to twins in June 2017, performed in April at Coachella. "I was supposed to perform at Coachella before, but I ended up getting pregnant, thank God," she told the crowd. "I'm happy to be back on stage."

Comedian Ali Wong taped two Netflix specials while pregnant, and tells graphic jokes about going through labour and breastfeeding. Her star soared after the specials earned her a legion of fans.

"I can already see how there's this crazy double standard in our society," she said. "It takes so little to be considered a great dad, and it also takes so little to be considered a bad mum."