Thoughts on this article?

[TheDivineMrsM]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100504...20100504085825

[TheDivineMrsM]

SInce we have an international community here, it'd be interesting to see everyone's take. The US was ranked 28th in the world for mothers. It saddens me that my country puts so little value in parenthood.

[umsami]

Sadly, I'm not surprised that we rank so low. What saddens me is that none of the politicians seem to view this as an important issue and want to do anything to change our rankings. This is not something that is in the news much--and when it is, I really get the idea that most people don't care. They view allowing universal health care (even for pregnant women and children), paid maternity leave, etc. as all part of turning American into a socialized nation.... rather than caring about the actual Americans (especially the children) who are affected by these policies.

[lunarlady]

I find it sad but not surprising. Our materinal mortality rate is linked to the number of c-sections and hospital births in this country, which result in higher rate of materinal complications due to surgical issues or infection. The fetal and child mortality rate is no doubt linked to our lack of health care for many women, our high rate of teen pregnancy as compared to other countries (teen mothers are at higher risk for parenting mistakes that can be fatal, such as car seat mis-installs), and our very poor materinity leave policy that forces many women to place their newborn under the care of strangers, reduces our BF rate, and makes it very hard for moms to take time off to care for sick babies.

I, personally, find the FMLA of the US to be somewhat of a joke. So you can take up to 12 weeks UNPAID leave for your child. Great. How many low income moms can afford that? Yes, many professional moms get 6-8 weeks paid, but so many low income/hourly moms get nothing except the right to return to work. I hope that the health care reform is a step in the right direction, but I hope there will be more done in the future in terms of parental leave for child care and government support for families.

[emnic77]

Originally Posted by umsami

Sadly, I'm not surprised that we rank so low. What saddens me is that none of the politicians seem to view this as an important issue and want to do anything to change our rankings. This is not something that is in the news much--and when it is, I really get the idea that most people don't care. They view allowing universal health care (even for pregnant women and children), paid maternity leave, etc. as all part of turning American into a socialized nation.... rather than caring about the actual Americans (especially the children) who are affected by these policies.

This is absolutely 100% accurate.

[texasfarmom]

I would be curious to know what the percentage is of moms who stay at home with their children is compared to those who work in different countries around the world. I think this has A LOT to do with parenting.