Mom-mentum Advocacy eNews
Tuesday, April15,  2015



 

Spring break draws to a close, and with a sigh of relief we return to the usual routine. The members of Congress are back in their home districts, probably raising money for the next campaign cycle. But it's a good time to let them know if you care about paid family leave, paid sick days, or paycheck fairness -- all 3 issues have legislation in play in both the House and the Senate. As usual, mothernews keeps churning on - read this eNews so you know the forces at work shaping your motherhood.
 
Best wishes,
Valerie Young
Your (Wo)man in Washington
Article1
DC DISPATCH - IT'S OFF TO WORK WE GO!

Women continue to work longer when pregnant, and come back to work sooner. Well into the 21st century, women are more educated and more likely to be employed than ever before. Yet we are still having babies, even though economic pressures and lack of supportive public policies continue to dog us. Recent data from the US Census Bureau shows that 50% of pregnant workers are still on the job in the month before their due date. More than 50% are back within 12 weeks of giving birth. This is worrying -- sleep deprivation, inadequate child care, and the stress of a major life transition mean moms are back at work in far less than ideal circumstances. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a full 12 months of breastfeeding, which is simply not possible in the current work culture. We are missing out on the benefits of breastfeeding and paid leave for mothers, babies and businesses, all of which are well documented. There are economic consequences too. According to the Washington Post

 

"... U.S. family leave policies remain stingy by international standards -- we're the only developed country that doesn't mandate any paid maternity leave, for instance. That's causing us to fall behind other countries when it comes to women in the workforce, according to a 2013 study by two Cornell University economists, making us less competitive with those countries in the global marketplace."  

 

The choice between your baby and your job is bad for everybody - but it's still the American way.

 

Article2ANOTHER REASON TO DUMP THE GUILT
 

One of my missions in life is to stamp out "mommy guilt" because I think it is undeserved and counter-productive. New research about the cause and effect relationship between the time mothers spend with their children and how those children turn out  suggests that more is definitely not better. When it comes to academic success, emotional well-being, and behavior, between the ages of 3 and 11, children's time with mom does not move the needle up or down. Like most everything having to do with moms, controversy ensued. Economist Justin Wolfers trashed the study in The New York Times, prompting the authors to defend their findings. Junk science, or a reason to let moms off the hook for not spending "enough" time with their kids? You decide.

 

Article3PLAY BALL WHILE BREASTFEEDING  

Cincinnati Reds fans got a surprise on opening day -- the ball park now contains a fully furnished lactation room, only the 2nd in the whole country. Requested by fans and designed to allow the whole family to enjoy a day at the stadium, the suite has gliders, refrigeration, lockers, and a flat screen TV. 

"While a mother should be able to nurse from her seat at a ballpark without the rest of her section retiring to a fainting couch, not all of society cottons to public breastfeeding without objection. The Reds making space for nursing moms (or even a dad with a bottle?) is a viable alternative. It also gives mothers a comfortable place to pump - an often overlooked aspect of breastfeeding." 

If it makes moms comfortable and happy, I'm all for it. But moms do have the right to breastfeed in public -- they have every reason to keep their seats, feed their babies, and enjoy the game if they want to.
Article4QUALITY CHILD CARE IS A "MUST HAVE"
ChildCare Blocks

 

Why, oh why, do we still treat child care like it's a personal problem, rather than a core economic policy and public good? I remember, not so very long ago, when in order to be a "good" mother you had to protect your child from the "horror" of child care. Decades have passed, and millions more moms go to work and millions more children are cared for outside their homes. Yet we still approach this as an issue for individual families to solve, rather than a common societal need with implications for everybody everywhere. We can do so much better and we deserve so much better too -- as set forth in If an Expert in Day Care Can't Find a Good One, Can Anyone?

 

   

New fathers in Canada were not taking the available family leave, so the government made 5 weeks "for fathers only".  Participation sharply increased -- and a surprising effect appeared:  the fathers stayed more involved in the hands on care of their children years after the leave period ended. "By studying time-use surveys since the onset of the "daddy-only" leave program, it was found that men who participated in the five-week leave continued to spend an average of 23 percent more time engaged in child care and housework than other men, long after both parents were back at work full-time."  Changing the gender dynamics within households improves women's economic security, reports the Chicago Tribune.

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