Moms Pump Here blog for moms - United States edition.
Congress recently passed the "Preventing Maternal Deaths Act". This bill was passed to support States in their work to save and sustain the health of mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, and in the postpartum period, to eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes for pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated deaths, to identify solutions to improve healthcare quality and health outcomes for mothers, and for other purposes.
...There is a new drug on the market for Mothers experiencing the baby blues. It's called Zulresso. The drug, Zulresso is a synthetic form of a hormone produced in the brain, acts quickly, and its effects can last for a month. Until a pill version is approved, the patient has to be hospitalized for 60 hours and receive the drug by IV. She can’t be home with her new baby because the drug may cause dizziness and unconsciousness. The price is also an astonishing $34,000 per treatment.
...Choosing a company to work for as an independent working woman is one thing but once you become pregnant everything changes. Some women don't expect to get pregnant at their current job and could care less about the company’s policies on maternity leave. I am here to warn you that the company you work for is just as important as the hospital you choose to deliver your baby. America is lagging behind when it comes to benefits for working mothers among other civilized countries. The United States remains the only country in the developed world that does not mandate employers offer paid leave according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. American women have been working later into their pregnancies and going back to work sooner after birth. Research has shown that paid maternity leave is associated with better job performance and retention among mothers, increased family incomes, and increased economic growth.
...The locations available to me to pump are all pretty inconvenient to say the least. I’m going to share some of my struggles and offer solutions. I think we need to shed light on this issue.
...As a mother and a wife there are numerous things you tend to feel guilty about but taking time for yourself should not be one of them. Every day many mothers grapple with making time for themselves and fulfilling their needs for their family. Even when you get a moment to yourself you tend to feel guilty because your habitual thought process is saying what else do I have to do? You find it difficult to sit down and relax because you know you have forgotten to do something. There seems to never be enough time to do it all, especially if you're a working mom. I noticed that the little things that are important to our well being we neglect sometimes and put everyone else's needs in front of our own. This type of behavior is detrimental to our spirit and can lead to depression, anxiety and a breakdown of a marriage if you are not careful. If your daily routine has always been doing everything for other people and neglecting yourself you will be miserable. I know from experience that if you don't take care of you first you will die a slow spiritual death. If this sounds like I am being selfish, then good it's time for me and you to become more selfish and take care of ourselves. Why do some of us think that we have to wait until our kids are grown to get our lives back? By that time it might be too late. The time is now. There are ways to manage our time more effectively and methods to decrease the workload such as:
...As I was strolling through my feed on Instagram I noticed an interesting headline. Hmmm... I thought no way this has to be fake news, let me do further research. As I began to investigate some more I found tons of online news articles stating the same exact information. There is now a potential cure for HPV!
...Why are so many parents skeptical about vaccinations? Let's face it over the last 20 years many parents are hesitant towards vaccinating their children and to be quite frank, I can't blame them. No one wants to even take the flu shot. I remember taking the flu shot years ago and immediately I became ill. As a result of my bad experience, I was deterred from ever getting the flu shot ever again, nor did I want my children to take it. Even though the flu can be deadly, I don't trust it and wasn't sure that it would prevent the flu. I chose to be exposed rather than vaccinated.
...Must we attend every school performance? Is it ok for a parent to say I don't feel like going? I love my children but when these events come up I dread them and here's why. It may be the Fall Talent show or the Winter Festival it doesn't matter what they call it, you are required to attend. Your children repeatedly remind you of the date and the time of the show. It is harassment on every level. Its as if you are forced to attend and be thrilled about going. I know some of you are reading this saying oh my goodness she is so mean but hear me out before becoming judgemental. There are many of you reading this right now who can relate to what I am saying. I’m going to state what every parent wants to say but doesn’t, I despise school performances. I loathe them, especially in this era. It is very difficult to just sit back and enjoy the show.
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1:(r)An employer shall provide—
(A) a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk; and
(B) a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.
2: An employer shall not be required to compensate an employee receiving reasonable break time under paragraph (1) for any work time spent for such purpose.
3: An employer that employs less than 50 employees shall not be subject to the requirements of this subsection, if such requirements would impose an undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer’s business.