Pregnancy

Making Healthy Choices About Nutrition

By Barbara Gold | Nov 12, 2016 | Comments Off on Making Healthy Choices About Nutrition

Like the old saying about the weather, everyone talks about nutrition but not much gets done about it. What we eat is tied so deeply to our cultures, our upbringing, our current lifestyles, and the political system we live under that changes seem daunting.

Protections for Pregnant Workers: A Good Victory!

By Cindy Pearson | Aug 13, 2015 | Comments Off on Protections for Pregnant Workers: A Good Victory!

Yesterday, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Young v. UPS, a pregnancy discrimination case that will have major impact on the health and economic security of women and families.

My Vaginal Birth After C-Section

By NWHN Staff | Jul 24, 2015 | Comments Off on My Vaginal Birth After C-Section

My son Jack’s birth in August 2014 was an exhilarating experience that left me exhausted and fulfilled. During the months that followed, I spent many hours reliving the moments leading to his birth. I can still remember the tempered excitement, pain, fear of more pain, and the wonder of seeing a little naked perfect body for the first time.

What to Reject When You’re Expecting

By NWHN Staff | Jul 24, 2015 | Comments Off on What to Reject When You’re Expecting

Although the U.S. health care system outspends the rest of the world, infants and mothers fare worse in this country than in many other industrialized nations. For example, infant mortality rates in Japan are more than 60 percent lower than…

Maternal Mortality Review – Each Death Matters

By NWHN Staff | Mar 27, 2015 | Comments Off on Maternal Mortality Review – Each Death Matters

The United States is one of few industrialized countries where maternal death rates are rising.1  Rates of maternal mortality in the United States are also higher among certain groups than others, including African-American women, who are three to four times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than are White women.2 Sadly, the vast majority of these deaths are preventable.

Shackled During Labor: My Experience

By NWHN Staff | May 1, 2014 | Comments Off on Shackled During Labor: My Experience

On August 2, 2000, I went into labor at Washington State Corrections Center for Women, better known as “Purdy.” I was pretty scared, even though this was not my first time giving birth.

Reproductive Justice and Childbearing Women

By NWHN Staff | Mar 1, 2013 | Comments Off on Reproductive Justice and Childbearing Women

In January, the U.S. women’s health movement celebrated the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which gave women the right to legal abortion. In the decades since Roe, health activists have focused on advocating for reproductive justice, which demands that women have the right to be parents — as well as the right not to parent — and to decide where, with whom, and how we give birth.

Why Are Women Afraid of Giving Birth?

By Kate Ryan | Mar 1, 2012 | Comments Off on Why Are Women Afraid of Giving Birth?

Growing up, I never thought of giving birth as something painful or inherently dangerous. I didn’t realize until later in life that my perspective on giving birth, and pregnancy in general, was a bit out of the ordinary.