News & Overview

Shel Lyons, MRN Founder, will be offering a childbirth education course on March 28, 2010. For more information, see "Classes" above.

NEWS:

January 2010: Shel is on Twitter. You can follow her here.

December 2009: Shel spoke at the ICAN of Baltimore film festival.

October 2009: Shel spoke at the Perinatal Symposium at George Mason University. Download a copy of Shel's Human Rights Workshop here.

March 2009: Shel spoke at the CIMS Mother-Friendly Forum in San Diego. Download the Power Point from Shel's presentation on transparency in maternity care here.

March 2008: Shel gave a talk on hospital birth to ICAN of DC. Download a copy of her talk here.

September 2007: Shel's article titled UNICEF and WHO Combat Aggressive Infant Formula Advertising in Asia was published in UN Vision. Download a copy of her article here.

August 2007: Shel founded the Mothers' Rights Network.

The Mothers' Rights Network will distribute a free "DC New Mom Manual" to low-income mothers throughout the greater DC area in early 2010 to empower new mothers and improve mothers' rights in three core areas: (1) Hospital and Insurance Protocols; (2) Food & Product Safety & Labeling; and (3) Workplace Flexibility for Parents. Read more about these issues and how they affect mothers' rights below.

You can download an early draft of the DC New Mom Manual here.

Medical & Hospital Protocols

Mothers’ Rights Network is committed to improving medical and hospital policies, including insurance policies that limit the use of midwife-run birthing centers, enforce short prenatal visits, and promote high cesarean section rates. Mothers’ Rights Network is working to change hospital policies that subject mothers to compelled c-sections after 24 hours of labor.

Many mothers prefer to have natural childbirths without interventions.

Doctors receive 2-3 times more money for a c-section than a vaginal delivery (an extra $2000-$10,000 extra per birth).

The average first birth takes 20 hours, with a normal range between 4 and 45 hours.

Hospitals often compel c-sections after 24 hours of labor.

At-home births are less expensive with less risk of unnecessary interventions.

Some insurance carriers refuse to cover at-home births.

Food & Product Safety & Labeling

Mothers’ Rights Network is committed to improving product safety and labeling for pregnant and nursing mothers, as well as for infants and toddlers, including nitrates in food, infant formula, baby food, and children’s toys. Mothers’ Rights Network is working to change regulations and laws to adopt the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes.

Pregnant mothers worry about: nitrates in deli meat, unpasteurized cheeses, prenatal vitamins, mercury in fish.
There are insufficient labels on deli meats and smoked meats, as well as other foods, to inform pregnant mothers whether they are safe.
Infant babies worry about: lead paint in toys, unclean infant formula, healthy breastmilk.

Workplace Protections for Mothers

Mothers’ Rights Network is committed to improving workplace protections for pregnant and nursing mothers, including longer maternity leaves, closer childcare, flexible schedules, and support for nursing at the workplace.

Mothers prefer to take longer maternity leaves to spend with their newborn infants.
Mothers prefer to work part-time & flexible schedules. See Washington Post.
Mothers prefer to nurse their children at work, and have childcare near the office.

What YOU can do about it!

Do you want to make a difference?

Read about mothers' rights issues on http://MothersWork.org and educate yourself on related areas.
Come to a Mothers' Rights Network meeting - see our Events Calendar - to learn how to advertise the organization, alert others about the issues, and advocate for the solutions.
Donate to Mothers' Rights Network - either specify a core area (medical, product, or workplace) or donate to a general need (events, fundraising, community).
Apply for a job or internship with Mothers' Rights Network. Mothers Rights Network needs staff and interns for grant writing/review, webmaster, accounting, and legal expertise. If you think you can help with one of these, please submit an application with cover letter, resume, list of references, and writing sample.

YOU can be part of the solution!