The United States is one of only three countries in the world that have not passed laws requiring organizations to offer paid maternity leave to their employees. I’ve watched my friends struggle to afford to deliver their babies, miss work to care for their newborns, and provide childcare when they go back to work. Celebrating our mothers on Mother’s Day is not enough, we must pass legislation to support maternity leave and women’s health. Not only do we have the highest maternal mortality in the developed world, we are the only developed country that is seeing increases in maternal mortality. We are also experiencing shocking rates of postpartum depression (as high as 1 in 5 in some states!). We have to be better at creating conditions where new moms can care for their physical and mental well-being and that starts with paid maternity leave. My priorities: Increase funding to agencies […]