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Greetings!
Summer is just around the corner. We long for an end to homework, school lunches, and over-scheduled kids - and parents, too! Before you fire up the barbecue for the holiday weekend, take a minute to read about how the decisions we make collectively, through our state and federal legislatures, impact you and your family on the most personal level. Your feedback is always welcome at valeriey@motherscenter.org. In this issue:
VISIT NAMC on Facebook
LIKE Your Your (Wo)man in Washington
FRIEND Valerie Young on FB
FOLLOW@WomanInDC on Twitter
CHECK new content our blogs: Your (Wo)Man in Washington and Mothers Central.
Post a comment, send us your thoughts, or ask a question - we are always thrilled to hear from you.
Happy Mother's Day,
The mothers of MOTHERS
  
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 There Is No Free Lunch
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 Sure, breastfeeding is cheaper than formula. Sure, it can benefit both mother and child in lots of ways. But without paid maternity leave, and with only 12 weeks of unpaid leave for some new mothers, breastfeeding can still come with a very hefty price tag. From the Health blog at the Washington Post, a look at the long-term costs.
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| The Myth of Choice |
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When the options are work outside the home OR care for your family, is that really a choice? Lisa Frack, a mother-activist on Oregon, reveals the illusion we face, and what real choice would look like for the Portland Tribune . Do all women have the same choices? Once we've made our choice, are we all equally happy? No, and no, says Forbes magazine in "Unhappy Homemakers".
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| Public Investment or Public Dependence? | | |
 The Obama Campaign has produced a video called "The Life of Julia" connecting federal programs paid for by taxes to specific benefits and different points in an American woman's lifetime, from infancy to old age. The point is to show government's unique role in the promotion of education, health, and self-sufficiency. Opponents criticize the message, saying it depicts a lifetime of dependence on "handouts". Economist Nancy Folbre notes that the fictional Julia produces far more via herself and her children than she takes in public funds in her Economix blog. Who says mothering is "non-productive" work?
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| MOTHERS Read and Review:Books Worth A Look | | 
The recent Mother's Day observance ushered in three new books about motherhood from multiple perspectives. Irish author Anne Enright penned the provocatively titled and thoroughly unsentimental "momoir" Making Babies, reviewed here. Former Vermont Governor Madeline Kunin released The New Feminist Agenda, and Elisabeth Badinter's The Conflict gets under NYT reviewer Judith Warner's skin in this recent assessment.
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Become a Member and Support MOTHERS Work | |  We cannot do this work without YOU.
For just $35 a year you will get discounts to conferences, free webinars and access to members-only discounts and resources. Your tax-deductible donation will also provide programs and support for the caregiving work mothers perform.
JOIN the NAMC, the parent organization of MOTHERS, and make a difference for MOTHERS in concrete ways!
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How can one gift make thousands of women happy?
A portion of each purchase of a Signature Mothers' Center Bracelet by Jewels For A Cause goes to the National Association of Mothers' Centers. Makes a wonderful gift for your mother, aunt, best-friend and for yourself.
Mothers' Center & New Mom Signature Bracelets
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