Today, America's mothers, infants and families have reason to be encouraged and to reach out to their state senators to again request their support of The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act in its final push to passage. YOU HAVE BEEN HEARD and this morning, Majority Leader Reid introduced a package of bills called Advance America's Priorities Act which now includes The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act.

On Thursday, May 15, Blogcatalog.com is challenging bloggers to Unite for Human Rights by posting words, pictures and/or videos. While the words might change from country to country and are sometimes taken for granted, human rights represent one of the universally agreed upon ideas — that all people are born with basic rights and freedoms that include life, liberty, and justice. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations.

After reading Denise's BlogHer post last week that the gift of maternal health is the perfect Mother's Day gift, I thought "this really is perfect!" I blogged it and suggested that not only is it a great cause, but it is also a great consumerism/stuff-free gift, something that I feel, in our consumerism-driven society, is so important, but so ofte

If you live in Knoxville, Tennessee you may see a fake funeral procession on Mother's Day the day before Mother's Day. This fake funeral procession is being organized to protest abortion.

It's been just over two weeks since Lisa Stone announced that BlogHers Act was teaming up with Global Giving to make a difference on the issue of maternal health and asked, "How many women's lives can we save with donations from the BlogHer community, between now and Mother's Day?"

Sunday, April 13 marked the five year anniversary of the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. Five years of systematic and widespread murder, rape, abduction, and forced displacement. That's longer than my almost 4-year-old daughter's lifetime. It's impossible for me to imagine what it must be like trying to raise your children in the midst of such conditions, yet for the people of Darfur, life must go on.

In just over a month, I will be delivering my baby in one of the best obstetric hospitals in my country. I will have the best doctors, a private room, and every comfort. If I wanted to, I could have a highly-trained midwife, and a doula, and have my home outfitted to accommodate a comfortable home birth. I have every reason to expect - even though I know that there are no guarantees - that I will have a safe and straightforward delivery. It is unlikely in the extreme that anything terrible will happen to either myself or my baby, assuming no complications with the pregnancy.

Yesterday Lisa Stone announced that BlogHer has teamed up with Global Giving in an effort to save as many women's lives as possible between now and Mother's Day. There are several worthwhile causes to support, one of which is helping Afghan women safely birth healthy babies.

How many women's lives can we save with donations from the BlogHer community, between now and Mother's Day, May 11, 2008? If you will download this widget today and encourage your readers to donate, we can find out. Won't you join us?

In the time that it takes you to read this post, at least one woman will die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. One woman dies, every minute. A new study shows that the majority of maternal deaths are caused by infection or infectious disease and are preventable.

In 2007 FemCare, the Procter & Gamble (P&G) unit that makes Always pads and Tampax tampons, started a program called "Protecting Futures" to donate Always disposable sanitary pads to girls in southern Africa in hopes of keeping African girls in school. In Africa, where adequate menstrual supplies are generally nonexistent, it is not uncommon for girls to use newspapers, rags or camel skin to try contain their period.

I'm the sort of person whose first reaction when she hears bad news is to stick her fingers in her ears and chant la-la-la-la-la. Economy taking a turn for the worse? Cow farts burning up the ozone layer? La-la-la-la-la-la. But if the news is really scary? I take my fingers out of my ears and go running around like a madwoman looking for information. To the point where I get somewhat obsessive and - my doctor tells me - prone to anxiety. The thing is, though, sometimes one has good reason to be anxious.