U.S. ranks 26th in quality of life for mothers & children

Sad. Because we can and should do better.

Save the Children's Eighth Annual Mothers’ Index has been released, ranking the living conditions and wellbeing of mothers and their children in 140 countries around the world (41 developed nations and 99 developing nations).

The rankings are determined by common markers of maternal and child health and wellbeing, including maternal and infant mortality mortality, healthcare access, births attended by skilled health personnel, child weight, access to clean water, political status, economic status, and educational opportunity.

The top 10 best places for mothers and children are (in order from first to 10th): Sweden, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Spain and Germany. The worst ranking nations at the bottom of the list include Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Yemen, Sierra Leone and Niger.

The United States falls somewhere between the best and the worst, at number 26. A bit pitiful, considering we're the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. All the more reason to do something NOW about a complete overhaul of our broken privatized health insurance "system."

To view and download the 2007 Mothers' Index, click here.  

Celebrity politics could make the difference for The MOTHERS Act

Politico columnist Helena Andrews has posted a piece about leveraging celebrity visibility in the service of politics - a topic that particularly interests me as I continue to marvel at the good things accomplished by actress Brooke Shields and former New Jersey first lady Mary Jo Codey on behalf of women's and children's health. Both of these high-profilers have given a great deal of their time - not to mention their good names - to work for legislation and programs at the state and federal levels that will address postpartum depression (PPD) as the health crisis it is.

It's a long time coming - and Shields and Codey turning out recently to support The MOTHERS Act (and companion Melanie Blocker-Stokes Act) on the Hill drew more public attention to the issue than has been achieved in several years of earnest grassroots lobbying by activist mothers and NGOs.

If passed, The MOTHERS Act would provide education and screening on PPD that can lead to early identification and treatment. The bill includes two grants to help healthcare providers educate, identify, and treat perinatal mood disorders: Grants to states, to be allocated to materials and programs for local healthcare providers who work directly with women, and grants to states and local governments, public and nonprofit hospitals, and community-based organizations who deliver essential services to women with PPD and their families (including better outpatient support and home-based care, support services, and inpatient care when needed). The bill would also extend research funding to improve treatments, diagnostic tools and educaitonal materials for providers. The MOTHERS Act incorporates and is a companion bill to Congressman Rush's House bill, the Melanie Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, which would expend and intensify NIH's research on PPD and related conditions.Postpartum Support International (PSI) - for whom I volunteer in Washington, DC - continues to be the leader in policy advocacy, working to push the MOTHERS Act through Congress and to educate all Americans about this problem - THE most common complication of childbirth, affecting up to 20 percent of new mothers.

Maloney steps up to the plate - again - for federal Breastfeeding Promotion Act

Last month U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), along with Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), hosted another successful "Nurse-In" on Capitol Hill to re-introduce the Breastfeeding Promotion Act [HR 2236] to Congress. In one of the smartest, most widely visible bipartisan advocacy moves for America's women, children, and families, the event brought together 100+moms and babies on the terrace of the Cannon Office Building near the capitol.

By all accounts, it was a rollicking good moment in the sun for mothers, engaging them directly in the policy efforts that affect their daily lives. And it got widespread publicity among NGOs and grassroots advocates in the maternal-child health and breastfeeding realms. So maybe this will be the session the BPA breaks through?

The proposed legislation would protect the rights of nursing mothers who return to the workplace after having a baby, amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with a new clause. The bill would also provide tax incentives for businesses that establish private lactation areas in the workplace, allow families to deduct breastfeeding pumps and equipment from their taxes, and provide a performance standard for breast pumps. (Can you believe how long in coming this is?)

Currently, 38 states and Puerto Rico have laws on their books protecting the rights of women to breastfeed. But the federal initiative would provide important national protections, regardless of where a mother lives and works. For more on the Breastfeeding Promotion Act from La Leche League International, click here.

Kudos to Congresswoman Maloney and Congressman Hays for their support of this legislation! Rep. Maloney, who has a strong track record of looking out for American women, children, and families, first passed breastfeeding legislation in the 106th Congress, when her right-to-breastfeed amendment passed for the FY 2000 budget. It protected a woman's right to breastfeed on federal property where the woman and her child are otherwise authorized to be. Then in the 105th Congress, Rep. Maloney included a reauthorization bill allowing state agencies to use WIC program funds to share educational materials on breast pumps and to purchase breast pumps for WIC recipients.

Be sure to let the other original co-sponsors of Maloney's Breastfeeding Promotion Act know you appreciate their efforts: Keith Ellison (D-MN); Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX); Barbara Lee (D-CA); Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY); John Olver (D-MA); Bobby Rush (D-IL); Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH); Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA).

The Act is now awaiting committee considerations, and has been referred to House Education and Labor. To let your representatives in Congress know you want them to push the Act forward - to protect women's rights, children's health, and family wellbeing - click here and look them up.

Where are the GOP candidates going on women's health policy?

Whatever your partisan leanings, and whatever your position on abortion, it's important to know where your next president stands on the women's health policy issues that will shape the future for your daughter, your granddaughter, your sister, yourself...

Today the Kaiser Family Foundation's "Daily Women's Health Policy" spotlighted the ongoing hullaballoo over GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's abortion stance. Click here for the lowdown.

Giulian's official position on abortion as a legal procedure, as posted on his campaign website, is this:
"Rudy Giuliani supports reasonable restrictions on abortion such as parental notification with a judicial bypass and a ban on partial birth abortion – except when the life of the mother is at stake. He’s proud that adoptions increased 66% while abortions decreased over 16% in New York City when he was Mayor. But Rudy understands that this is a deeply personal moral dilemma, and people of good conscience can disagree respectfully."

But this is the GOP, people, and we're still deep in an era in which the fundamentalist Christian constituency is the most powerful force in the party. Will they successfully re-make Rudy into the foe of legal abortion they want him to be? Or will Rudy successfully move the Republican Party back toward the moderate center? This tension makes for great political drama! But it also has far-reaching implications.

Your next president will be in a powerful position to protect or overturn the law of the land in Roe v. Wade - whether through Supreme Court and other appointments, through Congressional influenuence, or through other forms of administration advocacy. Keep it in mind.

Wake up and smell the breastmilk

Just goes to show... Not all breastfeeding advocates are out-of-touch hippies in sensible shoes.

In a smart, decisive, and timely move, the Workplace Breastfeeding Support group at the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee has issued an open letter in support of national paid maternity leave. Prompted by a new research review by pediatrician Gerald Calnen, just published in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine, the Committee says:

"At least 150 countries around the world provide some sort of national paid maternity leave. The USA is one of the few that does not. . .

For breastfeeding mothers, it takes time to recover from birth and build a reliable milk supply. Babies, too, take awhile to establish their feeding skills. Several studies have found that early return to work leads to earlier weaning.”

And, as anyone who's been paying attention knows, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that whenever possible, babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to receive the numerous health benefits it provides.

Fact is, most American mothers work outside the home. For the vast majority of us, employment is an absolute economic necessity, a personal priority that makes us better people and parents, or both. So where do policymakers get off, expecting millions of new mothers in America to choose between their babies' health and keeping a roof head over the family's head?

FMLA's a good start, but it doesn't cover enough American workers. We're behind the learning curve - and the rest of the developed world - on this one. We can let policymakers know we need and expect a change. And we can do it without breaking anyone's bank. (In fact, imagine the productivity, long-term loyalty, and human resource savings that could come from mothers who aren't arriving at work exhausted and guilt-ridden!)

Click here to find out which states have progressive paid maternity/family leave, and to share their successful models with the policymakers in your own state. And let your members of Congress know you don't want to see another session go by without their support for national paid family leave.