• Last updated 6/4/12 by Peggy O'Mara

The popular stereotype of woman suggests that she is easily influenced by the opinions of others and victimized by her role as a mother. This tired stereotype of mother as victim does not match the experience of real mothers. A woman is transformed by the experience of becoming a mother. Mothering unlocks in her an instinctual intelligence that generates confidence in her own authority. Inevitably, this increased confidence changes her relationship with others. Not wanting to be dominated by others is a legacy of the new mother because in becoming a mother a woman... read more

• Last updated 5/21/12 by Peggy O'Mara

    Someone once told me that mammals learn through play. When children run and play they are also learning. They are using their creativity, developing their self-confidence, building resiliency, increasing physical prowess; learning how to work in groups, to share, negotiate, and resolve conflicts; and honing self-advocacy skills. Play is the work of children and it is through un-structured, self-directed play that children learn to make decisions, and to identify their interests and passions. Play comes natural to children. Sometimes, if children have been watching... read more

• Last updated 5/17/12 by Peggy O'Mara

It’s all about breastfeeding right now. If you signed Public Citizen’s petition to stop distribution of formula samples to new moms in hospitals, you’ll want to know that PC is kicking it up a notch and moving to direct action. Be part of their Rapid Response Team to write letters, send emails, contact hospitals, challenge formula companies and generally raise awareness. This Saturday, May 19th, there will be a virtual and real-time demonstration against Nestle’s aggressive marketing of infant formula. The real-time demonstration is at Nestle’ headquarters in Croydon,... read more

• Last updated 5/13/12 by Peggy O'Mara

  I hate the Time magazine cover. I love the Time magazine cover. I hate the cover because it is sensational and exploitive. The stylized photo of a defiant looking mom nursing a 4-year-old boy dressed in camouflage and standing on a chair portrays attachment parenting as extreme and even militant. The cover is sensational because it depicts something highly unusual: nursing while a child is standing on a chair. RARE TO NURSE A TODDLER Nursing for longer than four years is extremely rare in the US. When we surveyed the Mothering readership in 2006, we found that 10%... read more

• Last updated 5/7/12 by Peggy O'Mara

Have you heard the amazing story of the mom who gave birth in the car last week to unexpected breach twins? It was a VBAC. You just can’t help but marvel at birth: a breach VBAC of two babies on the way to the hospital because they came so fast. You tell me. Does that give you confidence in VBAC or what? VBAC SAFE We should have confidence in VBAC. The medical establishment maintains control by giving permission to women for a trial of labor, thereby eroding their confidence in their own autonomy. Policies by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists... read more

• Last updated 5/3/12 by Peggy O'Mara

  Corey Booker, mayor of Newark, signed an agreement in February to partner with Nestle’, one of the four most boycotted companies in the world. Nestle donated $100,000 to Let’s Move! Newark, an initiative to fight obesity and promote breastfeeding. If you consider it a conflict of interest that Newark is partnering with a manufacturer whose products cause obesity and compete with breastfeeding, have no fear. In an email to Time reporter, Bonnie Rochman, Christina Lawrence, head of corporate affairs for Nestle’ Infant Nutrition, said, “The program is unbranded and no... read more

• Last updated 4/25/12 by Peggy O'Mara

Karen Brody and I had a chance to catch up Monday in Santa Fe. Karen is the founder of BOLD, a global movement to make maternity care mother-friendly. She is also the playwright of BIRTH, the critically-acclaimed play about childbirth in the US. Karen was in Albuquerque for a production of BIRTH, and to train birth workers in her FEAR to FREEDOM program, a ground-breaking new childbirth education method. In addition to her online FEAR to FREEDOM Birth Facilitator Training Program for birth workers, Karen is a passionate proponent of mothers getting more sleep and... read more

• Last updated 4/24/12 by Peggy O'Mara

Preschoolers spend 32 hours a week looking at a screen despite the fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under two. According to Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, “Time with screens is linked to poor school performance, childhood obesity, and attention problems. And it is primarily through screens that children are exposed to harmful marketing.” Formerly TV-Turnoff Week, Screen-Free Week (April 30 through May 6th) is a springboard for important lifestyle changes that can improve quality of life. Thousands of... read more

• Last updated 12/7/12 by Peggy O'Mara

The controversy about breastfeeding would be over if we counted breast milk production as part of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the same way that we count formula production. The $4 billion a year in US formula sales is part of the good news of our economy because of the distorted way that we count things. We don’t count the health savings from breastfeeding or the actual value of breast milk production in our GDP. What would it look like if we did? HEALTH CARE SAVINGS FROM BREASTFEEDING In 1997, nursing professor Jan... read more

• Last updated 4/16/12 by Peggy O'Mara

  Photo of Coral Charles-Dunne, 91, by Nick Wilkinson Do you ever wonder what you can do to protect breastfeeding? Are you or do you want to become a breastfeeding advocate? Whether it’s breastfeeding in public, breastfeeding and working, breastfeeding and jury duty, pumping during a medical licensing exam, or the distribution of formula samples to new mothers in hospitals, breastfeeding is the civil rights issue of our time. What can you do? Write a letter. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Find out the email of the parenting/family editor and ask... read more