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Health care bill has perks for adoption, breastfeeding moms
We've been inundated with stories on the health care bill that President Obama signed into law (and here's a good explainer from our friends at Politifact), but some little-known facets of it are getting attention from mom bloggers.
Workplaces will have to provide “reasonable” break time and a private location — other than a bathroom — for breastfeeding mothers to pump breast milk for one year after the birth of a child. If the company has less than 50 employees they can opt out if they show it causes undue hardship. This is something working mothers have long fought for.
Postpartum depression will get more attention with expanded funding, worker training, public education and research.
Beginning in 2010, the federal adoption credit goes up by $1,000 to $13,170 per child and now becomes refundable. Advocates for better adoption policies are thrilled, though even this blogger said she's not sure what this has to do with health care.
Remember how we reported on the federal funding for abstinence-only education getting cut? Well, the sex-ed class that tells students to wait until marriage is back. There has been mounting criticism on the effectiveness of this kind of teaching, but the health care bill allocates $250 million over the next five years. There's still some question over what kind of sex-ed program we are talking about. A University of Pennsylvania researcher reported earlier this year that a carefully designed, morally neutral abstinence-focused approach can work, and that the kids who did end up having sex were more likely to use birth control and protection. So stay tuned on how this one shakes out.
-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne
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About the bloggers
Raising children isn't easy. Whoa, Momma! is here to help you with parenting tips and discussion of all parenting issues. We think there's no such thing as TMI, so our blogging moms aren't shy about the hot topics and won't back away from a good debate. Bottle or breastfeed? Public, private or homeschool? And sex -- it's all open for comment. Don't sit on the sidelines -- pull up a bouncy seat and join the chat.
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THE AUTHORS
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
E-mail Sharon Kennedy Wynne:
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Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at 
Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, Comment Policy
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