What is striking, almost painful, to read now in the 1970’s writing about motherhood is how optimistic it all was. Common sense and a kind of can-do approach to solving the conflicts of motherhood set the tone.
There was faith. The new generation of fathers would help. Good babysitting could be found. Work and motherhood could be balanced. It was all a question of intelligent juggling. And to not falling prey to the trap of self-sacrifice and perfectionism that had tripped up the generation that came before.

p. 87, Perfect Madness, Motherhood in the age of anxiety, Judith Warner.