About a month ago, I found out that my niece is pregnant, and I’m not proud of how I reacted to this news. In hindsight, maybe it is because when she was a teenager I told her, "Don't get pregnant or I'll break your legs." Granted, unlike Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s daughter, my niece will be 23 next week and a college graduate, but despite living with the father of her child, she is unmarried.

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.

When I delivered my second child this past May, things didn't go exactly as I'd planned, which is usually how it goes, but still. I had totally intended to Twitter the whole thing. I had a brand new MotoRazr smartphone and everything. It was going to be awesome. But when the time came, it just wasn't possible. Man, was I bummed.

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.

If you're a mom, and you nurse, you need to read this: codeine ingested by some nursing mothers can harm - even kill - their babies.

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?

This just in: childbirth can be traumatic.

Have you heard about the "new" CDC surveillance system used for tracking new HIV infections? Did you notice that the infection rate is considerably higher than originally reported? Our Bodies, Our Blog has an overview of the CDC's revised HIV infection estimates.

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.

This afternoon I participated in a press conference call hosted by Americans United for Change, featuring a group of people all supporting bills within the Advancing America's Priorities Act. Speakers included: