MANCHESTER, N.H. – Mother’s Day is still a few weeks away, but local mothers had a day of their own at the Bookery on Friday afternoon.
U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined mothers, caregivers and a few kids to discuss the challenges families have faced in recent years regarding paid family and medical leave, child care, elder care, maternal health and other issues.
Organized by Moms Rising NH as part one of 50 similar events around the country in conjunction with Care Worker Recognition Month, Hassan also read the children’s book “My mom has two jobs” to the assembled crowd of children at the event.
Moms Rising NH Senior Director MacKenzie Nicholson says that mothers across the country and here in New Hampshire need access to affordable, adequate, accessible and culturally responsive child care and today’s event was a symbol that there are members of Congress that do see that as a priority.
“Senator Hassan literally met moms where they were at, on the rug of a bookstore with children’s books, talking about things that matter to moms here in Manchester like child care and maternal healthcare and the price of prescription drugs,” said Nicholson. “It sounded like these stories that we heard today are not uncommon themes for families across the Granite State and throughout the country.”
Pepper Nappo was a mom from Derry who came to the event to ask Hassan what Congress is doing to address the needs of moms and caregivers across the country. She says she goes to many events like this and glad that Hassan was on hand to listen and share information on pending legislation regarding the variety of topics discussed, describing the current state of support for moms in America as “abysmal.”
“I don’t think we offer the support that we need to with new moms and existing moms with aging children or children that are disabled, there’s a huge gap,” she said. “I think as a whole we’ve kind of shifted moms to the back burner and don’t give them the support they need and they’re expected to do everything with little support. I think that’s really difficult and needs to change in order for our country to head in a better direction.”
Hassan felt that the event spoke to the need for greater investment in caregiving infrastructure by the state and federal government, adding that it is important to talk face-to-face with individuals caring for their families and seeing what their needs entail.
“I think moms in America are overworked, they’re having a hard time juggling their family responsibilities if they are working outside the home. They’re trying to find affordable healthcare or work a different shift than their husbands so their kids are cared for by parents, but then parents don’t see each other that much,” said Hassan. “We need a lot more support for moms.”
While the Senator stated that she is hopeful that there will be bipartisan support in Washington for action on some of the topics, she also noted the need for additional support for maternal healthcare resources. Hassan noted that additional maternal healthcare support is especially in rural areas and especially after many doctors have become cautious in specializing as OBGYNs after the Dobbs decision, but additional legislation is needed to help women on a variety of topics.
“We need to recognize how much women work inside the home and out, and we need to make this economy a much more workable one for women,” said Hassan.
“There’s a lot of challenges that women are facing and it’s really important that women continue to raise their voices and it’s why it’s important to have women in office,” she added.
