My son was barely three months old, and I was in the midst of feeling depressed,  when I thought I was once again pregnant. My feelings of depression were now mixed with near panic at the thought of possibly being pregnant again. Although I had never had an abortion in my life I knew that if I was indeed pregnant I would most definitely have one. I reflect on this today, World Maternal Mental Health Day, as I think back to my mental health struggles in those early days after giving birth.  World Mental Health Day was established “to raise awareness of maternal mental health issues ..read more

A few weeks ago, my nail artist came back to work from maternity leave. I was so excited to have my nails done for the first time in months but that excitement was drained away when she told me her child care problem. Shanna, my nail artist who prefers not to use her last name, asked me if I had any recommendations for child care before she was gone for maternity leave a few months ago. Since moms depend on word of mouth to find child care, I’ve recommended the day care where my two children, now ten and six, happily ensconced themselves for eight years in total to many moms. I’ve always bee ..read more

Take Action Everyone—regardless of race, class, or zip code—deserves to have health care coverage. Everyone. Yet, there are still 10 states that have refused to expand Medicaid to low-income adults under the Affordable Care Act, leaving 1.6 million people in a Medicaid “gap” and uninsured. Quick signature: Tell Congress to close the Medicaid gap! What’s happening? Despite making historic gains in health care coverage in recent years, there are still some who have been left behind: people of color and rural Americans. We now have over a decade of data showing that Medicaid expansion lowers th ..read more

  Check Out Our Mother’s Day Gift Guide! With Mother's Day just around the corner, it's time to celebrate the incredible force that is “Mom Power.” Whether you’re celebrating your mom, partner, sister, friend, or any mom figure in your life, there's no denying how special and important they are - and how important YOU are! There's still time, but not much! Order gifts NOW for delivery before Mother's Day!           Vote like child care depends on it (because it does!) Child care continues to be unaffordable and inaccessible while child care providers are paid ..read more

The countdown to Tax Day is on! If you live in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Texas, Tennessee, South Dakota, Washington, or Wyoming and, like many of us, have not yet filed your taxes, I have some good news for you: you might be eligible to use a new free online tax filing software from the IRS. The free price tag for the Direct File software is welcome news since the IRS estimates the average amount individuals spend for tax prep is around $150 per year. That’s money that goes directly into the hands of greedy corporations. What’s more, it’s o ..read more

Tell Congress to fund programs that boost families! We’re excited that President Biden has listened to the voices of moms and families and is planning to make major positive investments in his FY2025 budget including: child care, paid family and medical leave, the Child Tax Credit, maternal health programs, and mental health care, and other programs to give families the tools they need to work and thrive. These policies will also lift the economy. Now we need the U.S. Congress to take action! SIGN our letter to the U.S. Congress telling them to follow President Biden’s lead and pass a budge ..read more

The Latest in the US Supreme Court. Abortion Under Attack. Health Equity & Health Care Access. Color of Change. On the radio show this week we cover the latest in the attack from far right extremists on access to abortion, birth control, IVF, and why access to mifepristone is being heard in the U.S. Supreme Court; then we cover health equity, healthcare coverage, and a new report, Lowering Costs for Black Americans: How the Inflation Reduction Act Makes Health Care and Prescription Drugs More Affordable; after that we dive into culture change and how laughter can change minds and public ..read more

MOMentum banner.gif We have a serious case of March GLADNESS for the MomsRising community! Your generosity helped score a big March win that protects lifesaving nutrition assistance for new moms, babies, and toddlers; kick off the largest class of national volunteer mom leaders in our history; champion increased funding for childcare; and more. Your March MOMentum has been nothing short of exhilarating! Just like in basketball where every player's contribution is crucial, every action you take with MomsRising – whether giving a gift, signing a petition, making a call, going to a meeting or ..read more

On the radio show this week we cover what really happened in the State of the Union (Hint: Victories!); how to get help through the ACF; the ability of culture change to push legislative change – and what you can do too; and we also hear from an award-winning author about the power of YOUR story.  *Special guests include:  Jenny Byer, MomsRising, @MomsRising; Debra Johnson, Administration for Children & Families in the Biden-Harris Administration @ACFHHS; Nicole Jorwic, Caring Across Generations, @CaringAcrossGen; Justina Chen, award-winning author of “With Twice the Love, Dess ..read more

Almost 27 million Americans in the private sector do not have access to annual paid vacation leave, and members of Congress have the solution. U.S. Representatives Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Greg Casar (TX-35), and Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) introduced the Protected Time Off (PTO) Act to guarantee all workers have access to paid days off from work. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) is introducing similar legislation in the Senate. During a press conference to introduce the bill, Ruth Martin, Senior Vice President at MomsRising spoke alongside Representative. Magaziner, Bud ..read more