OUR ISSUES
Our Issues
Below is an overview of the Mom Congress policy pillars.
Our supported legislation in each of these pillars is referred to as the Mom Congress Moms’ Agenda.
Read about the bills in the current Moms’ Agenda.
Mom Congress is a proud supporter of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus.
1. Supporting Working Mothers
Paid Family Leave
The U.S. is one of only three countries in the world not to offer statutory paid maternity leave. The others are the Marshall Islands and Papua New Guinea.
As of March 2020, prior to the pandemic, just 20 percent of private sector workers in the United States had access to paid family leave provided by their employers to care for a new child or an ill loved one.
Affordable Child Care Options
The U.S. is one of the top three countries with the most expensive child care in the world, not providing any subsidies to working families. This widens the gender equity gap as well as the Black equity gap (both pre-COVID and post-COVID).
Learn more > Mothers’ Preferences for COVID and Post-COVID Child Care Background and Policy Proposals — Mom Congress
Research Brief on Importance of Paid Family Leave and Affordable Child Care
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center
The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center's research brief titled "Paid Family Leave and Affordable Child Care Are Integral to a Strong Prenatal-to-3 System of Care" describes the needs of mothers/families in balancing early parenting and work. The report highlights how access to paid leave from work and affordable child care can work in tandem to support children's development and promote positive family outcomes.
2. Decreasing Maternal Mortality (Birth-related Death) and Addressing Racial Disparities
Mom Congress Black Learn, Listen, & Lift Toolkit
Mom Congress has created this action toolkit that contains action steps including films, books and podcasts to learn about race and black maternal health.
Safe and Supported Birth
The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high resource country—and it is the only country outside of Afghanistan and Sudan where the rate is rising. Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women in America.
Broken and Unequal Maternity Care
Watch this 40 minute documentary to understand one of the U.S.’s most pressing issues – the failure of our health care system in treating women equally.
Action:
Watch this film with a gathering of your friends.
How Racism Impacts Pregnancy Outcomes
UCLA obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Michael Lu believes that for many women of color, racism over a life time, not just during the nine months of pregnancy, increases the risk of preterm delivery. To improve birth outcomes, Lu argues, we must address the conditions that impact women's health not just when they become pregnant but from childhood, adolescence and into adulthood.
3. Maternal Mental Health
One in five women will suffer from a maternal mental health disorder like postpartum depression. Maternal depression is the most common complication of birth, yet in the U.S. most women are never diagnosed.