Last week I saw the film, "The Motherhood Manifesto," which was produced by Moms Rising. A trailer is above, and you can find more clips here.
This film made me ponder, for the millionth time, how it's possible that we can have such wealth in this country and yet rank just about last in the industrialized world when it comes to basic policies like paid family leave and health care for children.
The film points out, for example, that the only countries in the world with no paid maternity leave are Papua New Guinea, Lesotho, Swaziland, and the United States of America. I meet more and more mothers who are returning to work at six weeks because they can't afford to take advantage of their unpaid Family Medical Leave Act leave.
Just think what could happen to breastfeeding rates if we had family leave policies like Canada, which provides 15 weeks of partial paid pregnancy leave, 35 weeks of partial paid maternity/paternity leave, which can be extended by up to an additional 15 weeks of sick leave. I know, I know, we are so different from Canadians. That could never work here. I mean, they say "aboat" and play that curling thing, and um...yeah.
After the film my friend sitting next to me asked, "which part made you the most mad?" We both felt that the health care for children segment was the most disturbing. The film paints some good portraits of the effect of our health care system on families, pointing out that half of all bankruptcies are related to medical issues - and most of those families have insurance. As you probably know, we are the only Western nation without universal health care coverage, despite spending more per person on health care than any country in the world.
Not realizing that there would be screenings in my community, I purchased my own copy, which Moms Rising offers at cost. If you have a moms group which would like to watch it, send me your name and address. There are suggestions on how to hold a house party here, though you really don't have to do anything but show the movie. I may ask you to send it along to the next group, so please only respond if you'd be willing to do that.
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