It's no-win for working mothers (or any of us for that matter)

I came across this great opinion (fact!) piece through Kellymom's facebook feed (you should totally "like" it right away if you are breastfeeding supporter/practitioner).  Sarah Vine hits it squarely on the head:

The media, meanwhile, is endlessly lionising those famous working mothers who barely pause for breath between the delivery suite and the film set/boardroom/debating chamber, reserving extra-special praise for those whose faces and figures remain seemingly untouched by the ravages of pregnancy and birth, and chastising the ones who dare to “let themselves go”. Everywhere you look the message is the same: go forth and procreate; but woe betide you if you can’t fit back into your jeans, or are too tired to perform as athletically as you once did in the bedroom.

I don't think her arguments only apply to "working moms", but to all of us.  Motherhood is not valued.  We are perpetually criticized and measured against whatever standard is currently (this week) en vogue.   There are "experts" telling us that no matter what we do we are damaging our children, losing ourselves, killing our relationships, missing out on the purpose of life, wasting our potential, etc. It totally sucks.

And until we ignore all the "Mommy Wars" bullshit and start seeing each other as sisters, it is never going to get any better for us or our kids.  We need to unite as mothers and as women to fight for our right to make our own choices and raise our families in safe, healthy, supportive communities. 

PS. If you are wondering who Gina Ford is after reading the piece, like I was, here's a clue: she's a proponent of scheduling babies and getting them to sleep through the night at very early ages (under 3 months, even). Like the Babywise people.