Childbirth Connection, the group behind the report (and now part of the National Partnership for Women and Families) organized the publication in such a way that you can read the meaty executive summary in under an hour, send the Pathway to a Healthy Birth booklet to your pregnant friend, or geek out on the full report.
In the 114th Congress, which convened in January, about a dozen abortion restrictions and anti-abortion bills have been introduced, according to Sarah Lipton-Lubet, director of reproductive health programs for National Partnership for Women and Families.
“These bills insert politicians in the exam room,” said Lipton-Lubet.
The Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing report from Childbirth Connection, a program of the National Partnership for Women and Families, offers several guidelines when it comes to avoiding interventions (when not needed for medical reasons), as this is one of the most potent sources of harm when it comes to interrupting the hormonal process.
Our country’s infant and maternal mortality rates are too high, and our performance on prematurity, low-birth-weight babies, cesareans, early elective deliveries, and exclusive breastfeeding lags behind that of many other nations,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. “We simply must improve the quality of care for both mothers and babies – and this legislation can do that.”
According to a National Partnership for Women and Families (NPWF) survey of U.S. women who gave birth between July 2011 and 2012, 9 percent of pregnant women who requested schedule changes or time off while pregnant (for reasons relating to their pregnancy, such as prenatal appointments) said their requests were denied.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
Instead of reading tea leaves about the elections, ask voters what they think. The National Partnership and the Rockefeller Family Fund did just that, commissioning a nationwide election night poll of 2014 voters. Eighty-one percent said it’s important for lawmakers to consider new laws that help keep families economically secure such as paid sick days and family and medical leave insurance. Seventy-four percent of independents, 73 percent of Republicans, 75 percent of men, 95 percent of voters under 30, 97 percent of African-Americans and 95 percent of Latinos agreed.
In 2015 groups such as the National Partnership for Women and Families hope to close gaps in federal workplace protections to address the needs of pregnant workers. They are urging Congress to pass the Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act to achieve this critical step.
More than 250,000 women a year are denied their requests for pregnancy accommodation, according to a 2013 survey by Childbirth Connection, a project of the National Partnership for Women & Families. More than half the women surveyed said they did not request an accommodation because they feared retaliation.
Statement of Debra L. Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
A recent study by the National Partnership for Women & Families found that many pregnant women are denied even the simplest accommodations, such as extra bathroom breaks.
“Every family in America has a stake in the outcome of this case,” said Judith L. Lichtman, a senior advisor to the National Partnership for Women and Families, which submitted a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 12 groups committed to maternal and fetal health.
“It’s really tough to think, that in this day and age, when women are half the workforce, and so many families depend on their income, that women are still having to choose, and potentially, lose their job and lose their health insurance because they’re pregnant,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families.
(Statistics provided by the National Partnership for Women & Families)
“Here we are at the end of 2014, talking about pregnancy discrimination, which we women’s rights advocates thought we had addressed and basically fixed in 1978,” says Judith Lichtman, senior adviser at the National Partnership of Women and Families.
“Oregon is entirely blue,” Vicki Shabo, vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families, pointed out. “Paid sick days is something they’ve been working on for a long time.”
On Nov. 24, the Center for American Progress, the National Women’s Law Center and the National Partnership for Women & Families hosted a webinar on pregnancy job discrimination and Young v. UPS. Several experts, including Michele Jawando, Rachel Lyons, Diane Feldman and Emily Martin, discussed the case, the historical context of pregnancy discrimination and information on how to take action—and it’s clear that Young has already made a difference for pregnant workers.
The National Partnership for Women and Families cautions that pregnancy-related counseling, prenatal care, midwifery services, enhanced coverage for high-risk pregnancies, labor and delivery services outside of a hospital setting and neonatal care may not be included in every plan.
The reason this image resonates with so many is that it’s a symbol, explains Vicki Shabo of the National Partnership & Women and Families. “This photo encapsulates the dual demands placed on women increasingly taking on the role of breadwinners in families and also committed to giving their kids the right start,” she tells Yahoo Parenting. “It shows a lot of the dualities women face every day.”
