Celebrating Black Maternal Health Week #BMHW25

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Mom and three kids Greetings from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! Things have been busy. I am still a working mom of three, working full time who is trying to make a difference. I do a lot of things and try to be present so that I can learn from them. I share them on this blog so that we can learn together. Below are some thoughts, hacks, and/or lessons that I have learned from navigating my world. Black Maternal Health Week April 11-17, 2025 I am a Black mom to three wonderful children. I was blessed to have three successful births. While I am an attorney, my third delivery highlighted the potential risks that occur when a physician fails to listen to the birthing person. Initially, I chalked it up to the physician involved and limited it to my personal birthing experience. Then, I learned that I was not special. Overwhelmingly, Black women experience higher rates of birth trauma, birthing complications and negative birth outcomes.  These statistics are what lead to the creation of ...
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Reading on the Run: Articles of Interest to Working Moms (Egg Freezing Benefit Packages Part II)

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The egg freezing benefit discussion that I mentioned in my previous blog post is an issue that's relevant to all working women, but especially working moms. To date, there has not been overwhelming support for us. Even though many of us have been trying to lean in we have struggled because of the lack of basic benefits like paid maternity leave, paid vacation benefits, and flexible schedules.


Egg Freezing Benefits May Make Being a Working Mom Unfashionable


We have been fighting tirelessly to get Corporate America to recognize that while we may enjoy our work, while we are willing to work long and work hard, working is not our life. It doesn't seem like we should have to apologize for that, but we often do because we understand the unspoken truth. Our getting pregnant, our children and our resulting family obligations are inconvenient for our employers.
Still we have soldiered on and have fought in our organizations and for legal changes that would make being a working mother easier on our daughters.

We have fought for years for equal rights while simultaneously noting that being a woman is different because we are the only member of the species who can reproduce and we only have a limited window in which to do it. We have made progress, not enough, but some. And in the midst of our fight we are delivered a crippling blow. Some companies now provide a benefit that could make being a working mother both unnecessary and unfashionable.

Because of the enlightenment of Facebook and Apple American bosses may now have a seat at the table in family planning. Think about that.

Several women have thought about it and have offered their opinions about what that means in a New York Times series called, Freezing Plans for Motherhood and Staying on the Job

They address the following questions:
  1. Should doctors encourage young women to use the procedure more routinely? 
  2. Do companies send the wrong message by offering this coverage?
  3. Is freezing eggs even safe for women and the resulting children?
Read the articles and let me know your thoughts!

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