Topic: US Government

Workers in Pennsylvania Deserve Paid Leave

We conducted multiple, in-depth interviews with four low-income women in Pennsylvania throughout their pregnancy and postpartum period. Each of these women, who vary in age, race, marital status, educational attainment and occupation, have one key thing in common: they do not have access to paid family and medical leave.

Learn more about what makes paid leave a public health imperative.

Workers in Kansas Deserve Paid Leave

We conducted multiple, in-depth interviews with four low-income women in Kansas throughout their pregnancy and postpartum period. Each of these women, who vary in age, race, marital status, educational attainment and occupation, have one key thing in common: they do not have access to paid family and medical leave.

Learn more about what makes paid leave a public health imperative.

Workers in Georgia Deserve Paid Leave

We conducted multiple, in-depth interviews with four low-income women in Georgia throughout their pregnancy and postpartum period. Each of these women, who vary in age, race, marital status, educational attainment and occupation, have one key thing in common: they do not have access to paid family and medical leave.

Learn more about what makes paid leave a public health imperative.

Qualitative Paid Leave Report: Furthering Our Case for Paid Leave in the United States

Our latest report, Qualitative Paid Leave Report: Furthering Our Case for Paid Leave in the United States, is based on a study we commissioned to examine how lack of paid leave affects the well-being of new mothers and their babies, particularly women working in low-wage jobs, and to amplify the experiences of low-wage working mothers in their own words. By interviewing and surveying 20 women in five states that did not require workers to have access to paid leave, we learned about how mothers navigate the experiences, demands and joys of motherhood.

For more about the report, our work with paid leave and how you can help, visit here.

The Power 4 Nutrition Interventions

Malnutrition has many root causes including poverty, lack of education, erratic seasonal crop cycles, climate change, women’s inequality, and poor access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. As the world works to tackle these major challenges, which will help end child malnutrition in the long-term, there are four essential actions we can take now to prevent children from dying of severe malnutrition. These interventions span the course of the critical 1,000-day period between a woman’s pregnancy and a child’s second birthday when there is a unique window of opportunity to build healthier and more prosperous futures for mothers and their babies.

  • Supply all pregnant women with prenatal vitamins
  • Support breastfeeding mothers
  • Continue large-scale Vitamin A Supplementation
  • Expand coverage of specialized foods for treatment

Nourishing Gender Equality: How Nutrition Interventions are an Underleveraged Tool in the Fight for Women’s Rights

The nutrition and women’s empowerment sectors are mutually reinforcing, and it is time to link them more intentionally. Nutrition interventions are critical to making concrete, cost-effective, and long-lasting improvements to the status of women and girls around the world.

There are three specific areas where a more intentional focus on nutrition offers advantages for women and girls in their fight for gender equality:

  • From even before a girl is born, good nutrition is a crucial component in supporting her lifelong right to Health and Survival, allowing women to live longer, better lives.
  • By boosting individual workforce participation and earning potential, good nutrition has a proven positive impact on women’s full and equal Economic Participation and Opportunity.
  • Access to good nutrition allows girls’ brains to develop fully and impacts how well women and girls can perform in school. It also secures their right to equal Educational Attainment with men and boys.

Global Breastfeeding Collective – Breastfeeding and Prevention of Overweight Children

Breastfeeding is one of the smartest investments a country can make to build its future prosperity. It offers children unparalleled health and brain-building benefits. It has the power to save the lives of women and children throughout the world, and the power to help national economies grow through lower health care costs and smarter workforces. Yet many societies are failing to adequately support women to breastfeed, and as a result, the majority of the world’s children – along with a majority of the world’s countries – are not able to reap the full benefits of breastfeeding.

Health Insurance is Important for Young Children

Infancy and early childhood are a time of tremendous development for children, and when the foundations for a lifetime of good health are set. During this time, young children interact with health care providers on a regular basis for preventive care, regular checkups and well-child visits as well as a range of other services—and comprehensive health insurance makes it possible.

Health Insurance is Important for Pregnant Women

Pregnancy is a critical period when a mother’s health has a significant impact on her developing child. Timely prenatal health care can help identify, treat and manage health conditions that can lead to poor birth outcomes and improve maternal health. But the converse is also true: when women do not have access to the health care and prenatal services they need, they and their babies are at risk.