One of the most difficult obstacles facing families today is lack of paid maternity leave. But, while it is often discussed and lamented, many women do not know how to take action and get involved in the fight for it. That’s why I was impressed by journalist and mother Kelly Regan Taber. After her difficult experience negotiating her own maternity leave and reading up on how the lack of paid leave is hurting U.S. families, she decided to do something about it.  → Read More

I’m a working mother of two small children, and I’ve breastfed them both. In fact, I’m currently somewhere in the middle of breastfeeding my second child, who has cut two teeth recently and knows how to use them, so we’ll see how much longer this continues. And it’s been interesting, being alive and mothering and breastfeeding during a time of historically high intrusion into women’s nutrition relationships with their babies. I’m not a breastfeeding crusader – quite the contrary, actually. I’ve found the whole situation to be exhausting and crazy and difficult.  → Read More

Political leaders talk about “family values,” but too often real reforms are set aside when it comes time to draw up the federal budget or do the heavy legislative lifting to ensure that women and men can raise their children, care for their elders, and continue to earn the incomes they need to survive and thrive in today’s economy.  → Read More