Three questions with Susanna Maddrigal: RGV native on loving motherhood, thriving as a professional

Susanna Maddrigal, CEO of MADD Media advertising agency in McAllen, is celebrating her 28th Mother’s Day.

But her life plan didn’t initially involve children, which she expressed in the column “I thought I never wanted to have kids. Here’s what I learned when I had one,” published by HuffPost in 2021.

She recently continued the conversation during the third hour of NBC’s “Today” show, for which Susanna joined a panel including “Sex and the City” author Candace Bushnell, entrepreneur Tai Beauchamp and Today’s Donna Farizan for a candid chat, which addressed career and motherhood.

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVITED TO ‘TODAY’?

SUSANNA: I thought it was a joke, actually. I learned it was initially structured to be a panel of only career women who opted not to have children in order to freely pursue their dreams of success. No mothers. It made perfect sense to me since that perspective is rarely talked about, much less given a national platform. However, the reason they reached out to me is that someone from NBC came across my article in the HuffPost about how I never wanted to have kids, but had one anyway and they felt my 180 (degree) pivot warranted being included in the conversation.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT CAREER AND MOTHERHOOD NOW?

SUSANNA: You never know what the job truly entails until you’re doing the job. I didn’t realize how many sacrifices motherhood actually demands. For most of us, we do them gladly … without expecting anything in return. Being a mother doesn’t guarantee that child will love you. It’s our contribution to the world. Does motherhood demand career sacrifices? Yes, except I wouldn’t call them sacrifices so much as stumbling blocks in that it does require us to put ourselves on hold for a bit. Motherhood comes with concessions some are simply not prepared or willing to make, such as almost always having to put ourselves in second, third or even last place until the child leaves the nest because that is simply what’s required of us as parents. Where men can pursue their careers unimpeded without worrying about the congenital diseases that tend to pop up at the age of 35, women have a very different reality where biology does tick away like a time bomb. We have to make decisions early on about things no one wants to think about, much less talk about in their 20s like to have a child or pursue a career, freeze our eggs now or hold off, pro-life or pro-choice? These are uniquely feminine issues and we really would do better to just support one another’s decisions as simply customized choices for the life we want to experience.

NOW THAT YOUR DAUGHTER IS A GROWN WOMAN, AND A SURGEON, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO SEE HER SUCCESS?

SUSANNA: It’s almost kind of surreal, because I still see the 5-year-old. I know that she’s a woman. I’m proud of that woman. Our relationship has taken on a level of friendship. We’re constantly being challenged to grow, because those (dynamics) change. I wait for her to call me. I give her space. I do miss the 5-year-old girl I’ll never get back. We’re in a different phase now.