I have been following the thread on maternity leave and here's my 2 cents
worth.  Women have always worked.  There is a Chinese (I think?) saying that
"women hold up half of the sky".

However, in many "traditional" societies, having children is a social
experience- women aren't expected to "do it all".  In Thai farming
communities for instance, women take the babies into the field and rice
paddy.  Whe the babies are older, they are with a grandp[arent or older
sibling-but mom is always near.

The issue here isn't weather or not women should work out side of the home.
As I said, women have always worked.  I think the problem is the artificial
seperation of families.  Mothers and babies- in my ideal world- would have
access to one another through out the day.  Baby care should be in the same
georgaphic location as where the mother is working.  Some companies (I can't
think of which ones right now) do have on site day care facilities.  The US
Department of State is working on creating an on site day care facilty at
the Foreign Service Institute- it's training facility.

Mothering, and parenting are as normal as breathing.  It is creating
situations where this "normal" part of human life becomes "abnormal" and
having a family is made into a handicap that it becomes a problem.

Any thoughts on this?   Nancy Sherwood Professional Mom and LLLL, IBCLC