With the Democratic National Convention in full swing and Women's Equality Day, marking the 88th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote, celebrated on Aug. 26, women's issues have been a hot topic lately.

If you've given birth in the United States in the past three years, you are eligible to participate in The Birth Survey. Thanks to The Birth Survey: Transparency in Maternity Care, "women can now give consumer reviews of doctors, midwives, hospitals, and birth centers, learn about the choices and birth experiences of others, and view data on hospital and birth center standard practices and intervention rates." If enough women take this survey, it could have a serious impact on maternity care in the U.S.

Here's a roundup of what's going on out there in the world of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders this week ...Cate at 18 Years and Counting is suffering from postpartum depression and anxiety and needs a Warrior Moms Virtual Hug. Here's a post she just wrote about her obsessions and fears.

While wondering today how I would segue into writing about model Christy Turlington and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell's recent campaign for maternal health, I unexpectedly came across a blog post about that very subject that stopped me in my tracks and left me in tears. The post was on Single Mom Seeking by guest blogger Matt Logelin who lost his wife and mother of their child just hours after she gave birth.

Here's what breaks my heart about ongoing debates about the ethics of breastfeeding in public: that there IS any debate. Shouldn't this subject be considered settled? Wasn't that the whole point of World Breastfeeding Week last week? To celebrate breastfeeding, and our will and ability to do it whenever, wherever? Was nothing learned from the Facebook/Bill Mayer debacles of last fall?

So there I was, feeling sorry for myself for having sustained extensive nether-region damage during the birth of my son ten weeks ago AND having the surgery to correct that damage BOTCHED (don't even ask), when I came across this: a Wall Street Journal report from Cindy McCain on the state of things in Rwanda.

World Breastfeeding Week, celebrated by 120 countries worldwide Aug. 1-7, is just eight days away. This year's theme is "Mother Support: Going for the Gold" and, in my opinion, is such an important one.

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.

I'll admit my finger is not exactly on the pulse of Hollywood happenings. I have far too much going on in my life to add celebrity watching to the list. However, when there is a natural or home birth in Hollywood (things near and dear to my heart), the news usually crosses my path one way or another. And so I was both surprised and pleased to read yesterday that Jessica Alba's new daughter Honor Marie Warren was born via a natural hypnobirth.

You have a million and one things on your plate, are feeling overwhelmed and are reaching your breaking point. Yet when someone asks you to do one more thing, take on one more responsibility, juggle one more ball, you can't turn them down. I mean, if you say no, they might figure out you are not *gasp* perfect. But wait a second, you aren't perfect. I'm not perfect. None of us are perfect. So why is it that so many women, moms in particular and yours truly included, feel compelled to convince the world we can do it all, seamlessly, perfectly, without missing a beat?

I've been struggling with a secret, which is this: I'm really, really not in love with my body right now. I have, been keeping it secret for two reasons: 1) it's totally new to me - I've never really struggled with my body image, even after my last pregnancy, which added padding where no padding had hitherto existed, and so it just feels foreign and weird and (obviously) bad, and 2) it also feels so, I don't know, anti-feminist or anti-woman or anti-me (which, really, collapses into a kind of counter-womanism, to be anti-yourself as a woman) and I just so don't want to be that.

NBC's new reality show "The Baby Borrowers" takes five teenage couples through a crash course in adulthood tasking them with responsibilities such as a house payment, a job, and for three days, the care of a baby (and later, a toddler, pre-teen and elderly person). Many bloggers and others are up in arms over infants being separated from their parents for so long for a so-called "social experiment" saying it is irresponsible television and some have even called it child abuse.