How we research and keep numbers current

Every number on This Mom comes from an official or published source: state leave programs, the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor, USDA, HealthCare.gov, Child Care Aware of America, KFF and Peterson-KFF. We link the source next to the figure, date-stamp every page, and re-check figures when programs announce new yearly amounts.

By This Mom · Last verified · Sources linked on this page · Data free to reuse (CC BY 4.0)

Rules we follow

  • Primary sources first: the agency or researcher that publishes the number. When we use a secondary tracker (for example KFF’s Medicaid tracker), we say so and link the state documents it cites.
  • Pages are researched and written with AI-assisted tools; every figure is checked against its linked source before it goes live.
  • No figure without a source link. If we can’t verify it, we leave it out and say so.
  • Dates on everything. Leave maximums change on set dates (for example January 1, July 1); our pages show the figure in effect when last verified.
  • Costs and benefits only. We don’t give medical, legal or tax advice.
  • Corrections: email hello@thismom.com. We fix confirmed errors and note the date.

Calculator assumptions

Year one is 52 weeks from birth. Lost pay is your normal pay for the leave weeks your employer doesn’t pay, minus estimated state benefits. Child care is the state’s average infant price for the weeks after leave. Tax credits use 2026 IRS amounts. Birth costs use the Peterson-KFF averages unless you enter your own.

Use our data

The full dataset is free to use with credit to thismom.com (CC BY 4.0): JSON. The Baby Money Report 2027 data (infant care price as a share of state median household income, from Child Care Aware of America 2024 prices and U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 table B19013) is in CSV and JSON.

Last updated October 5, 2026.