I read that Rachida Dati, France’s Justice Minister, returned to work a mere 5 days after her daughter was born via c-section.  Incredibly, she showed up for work in high heels and a beautiful business suit.  In photos I’ve seen, she looks absolutely beautiful.

Her return to work has set of a fire storm of controversy, as can be expected.  In France, according to reports, women receive 16 weeks of paid maternity leave.  Here in the United States, women can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave if they work for a company that is large enough.

I returned to work 2 days after birthing my 4th child, mostly because I had no choice.  I had a difficult pregnancy and had to take time off during the pregnancy because of health issues.  I simply couldn’t afford to take any more time off.  I do remember driving to work and thinking, “this probably isn’t the best idea”.  I felt horrible, but you do what you have to do.  In other pregnancies, I’d taken time off and found that my duties and accounts had been transferred to other workers during my absence.  However, I was not given those accounts back upon my return.   I remember thinking that I was being penalized for having a child, and in retrospect, that’s exactly what happened.

Of course, we don’t know “the rest of the story” behind Ms. Dati’s early return to work.  Was her return simply because she felt well enough to return to work, or did she have no choice but to return to work?

Whatever the reason, I wish Ms. Dati and her daughter the very best.

I’m so jealous of the French. Their politicians are just so much more exciting than ours. I adore president-elect Barak Obama but I can’t imagine he’s going to be embroiled in any kind of scandal that seems to be a requirement of any French cabinet minister – or President. First there was President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new wife, glamorous model Carla Bruni, for whom he dumped his wife and the mother of his children. Pregnancy rumors have been buzzing around the couple since they were first seen together, but so far, France’s First Lady does not seem to be having France’s First Baby.

And now, France’s justice minister, Rachida Dati, gave birth on Friday to a baby girl, Zohra. Brushing aside regular mom concerns like resting while pregnant, and maternity leave, 43-year-old Rachida worked throughout her pregnancy and plans to take only a week of maternity leave. Incidentally, France has one of the world’s most generous maternity leave programs, giving moms up to three years of paid maternity leave, tax breaks and subsidized child care.  If I get pregnant, I’m booking tickets to Paris!!

Miss Dati is at the center of France’s second high government soap opera because she refuses to name her baby’s father. Possible candidates include a French millionaire casino owner, the former president of another European country, and the younger brother of president Sarkozy.

There’s also fuss and bother over an upcoming cabinet reshuffle this month, with rumors that Rashida will be loosing her position, and the obvious question: would it be because she had a baby?  She’s reportedly working from her hospital bed, and taking less than a week of maternity leave signals obvious devotion to her job.

Her position is much more influential and significant than mine, so even though I quit work for a year after my son was born, I respect her decision to get back to her desk as soon as possible.

In 2009, more women than ever hold positions of power in governments around the world. We almost had a mom-of-5 and grandmother of one for our vice president. But what do you think about women with such important jobs having babies? Should they not have children so they can concentrate on their work, or should they be entitled to a break and maternity leave, with no penalty, as most of us are legally entitled? Or is the right thing to do somewhere in the middle?

An unnamed 59 year old Frenchwoman, of Vietnamese origin, gave birth to triplets on Saturday night. After seeking in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Vietnam, the woman delivered two boys and a girl by cesarean at a Paris hospital. According to a spokesman, ‘everything went smoothly.’ The babies are healthy, weighing between 4 lbs 9 oz and 5 lbs 5 oz. No further details have been released yet.

There is obvious controversy surrounding this announcement. In France, the maximum age set by most clinics for a woman to participate in IVF is 42. In Vietnam it is 45. According to French media, it is illegal to provide fertility treatment to a woman past natural childbearing age. And according to at least one spokesman for the Catholic church, it is wrong. Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois said, ‘On this particular point, scientific progress is not good for mankind.’ But she is not the first, nor the oldest, Frenchwoman to have accomplished this.

A baby was born in 2001 to a 62-year-old. And a 70 year old Indian woman gave birth to twins after receiving IVF treatment.

I’m still on the fence about this. But I’m leaning toward thinking if a woman wants a child this badly, I believe she’ll probably do her best to be a good mother. The life expectancy for a Frenchwoman, according to the CIA World Factbook, is 84. So it’s not like she won’t be able to see the children grow up. And I have had several close friends and a family member go through the pain of infertility, so I understand why couples pursue IVF, though I don’t think I’d do it myself. I’m not sure why a country would even have laws about how young you have to be to get pregnant. I also don’t agree with the Archbishop who thinks it’s bad for mankind.

For my part, I just don’t know why anyone would want to have a baby at that age. I’m feeling too old sometimes for my 5-month old, and I’m ‘only’ 35. My OB told me there was still plenty of time to have babies, but I think he must be working on job security. Because, as long as I have a say about it, I’m done.

Last week, France banned television shows aimed at the under threes. US channels like BabyFirstTV and Baby TV air in France. Legislators, concerned about possible developmental delays in babies who watch too much TV, called the BabyFirstTV and Baby TV channels a “danger”, and these channels will be going off-air in France.

French cable broadcasters that show foreign channels with baby programming will have to broadcast a warning message that reads: ?Watching television can slow the development of children under three, even when it involves channels aimed specifically at them.?

According to the French legislators, ?Television viewing hurts the development of children under three years old and poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens.?

I can see their point, especially reading this from Baby TV’s website,

“Baby TV was conceived following a sleepless night spent rewinding a baby video at the demand of an unrelenting toddler. Our creators imagined a service which offered easy access to programming specifically designed for babies around the clock.”

Are you disturbed by this too? What reason could there be to stay up all night with a toddler who wanted to watch a video? Why wasn’t the kid in bed? Even if this toddler was sick, watching a video surely isn’t the answer? Wouldn’t it be more soothing to read a book, or listen to music instead? And when my toddler demands something, it doesn’t mean he gets it.

The American Association of Pediatricians concurs with the French: they recommend NO television for children under two, and limited viewing hours for pre-schoolers.

BabyFirstTV clearly disagrees. The subscription-based channel says that “BabyFirstTV is an interactive tool for parents to engage their infants and toddlers ranging from 6 months to 3 years.”

I don’t like being told what to do, or what not to do, and that responsible parents should be able to make their own decisions about how much television their children can and can’t watch. I think it’s somewhat draconian to say NO TV EVER as it’s occasional use has been very helpful in my house. My son doesn’t watch much TV at all, but when I got sick recently, being able to lie on the couch and doze while my son watched an hour of Barney was a blessing.

So I think the French legislation, while well intentioned, is ultimately going to be ineffective for keeping babies from television. Surely French parents are just going to sit their babies and toddlers in front of programs aimed at the over threes? Including programs with violence and themes that might be disturbing to very young children?

Here’s some tips for managing and limiting kid’s TV time.

What do you think? Was France right to ban baby television channels? Do you think America should ban baby TV shows too?

The latest development in one of the most anticipated twin pregnancies in Hollywood circle has Angelina Jolie in the hospital for their birth. She has been admitted to Lenval Hospital in Nice, France and a spokeswoman for the hospital has confirmed that mom is doing well. Not much more details has been given but that her admittance to the hospital has been a scheduled one. I’m sure it won’t be long until she does give birth and the whole Jolie-Pitt clan welcome its latest additions.

Some have speculated that the choice of France as the twins’ country of birth is an homage to Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand who has passed away. But others are saying that Angelina Jolie and husband Brad Pitt, decided on a France birth because of the government’s more stringent rules against paparazzi. French Paparazzis are not allowed to take pictures of celebrities in private settings, especially not celebrities’ children. Only in celebrity events such as premiers, and awards shows, etc, are celebrity pictures allowed to be taken and children’s photos are regularly blurred or even pulled from publication.

Before Freedom Fries, and Freedom Bread, the French were often stereotyped as a nation of romance and lovers. Perhaps, sometimes it’s not too far from the truth.

France’s new head of state, President Nicholas Sarkorzy, was divorced from his ex-wife C?cilia in October, and he is now engaged to Italian supermodel and singer Carla Bruni.

It’s been an eventful pregnancy, whoops, I mean presidency. Sarkozy was elected in May 2007. Just days later, C?cilia left him. He met and began dating Carla Bruni in late November. And now, less than two months later, the internet is buzzing with rumours that Carla is pregnant.

The couple recently announced they will wed on February 9th. Some speculate Miss Bruni’s alleged pregnancy is the reason they plan to marry so soon.

Carla will be Mr Sarkozy’s third wife, and the baby will be his fourth child. He has two adult children from his first marriage, and a 10-year-old son with his second wife C?cilia. Carla has a son from a previous relationship.

Far from the stereotype, the French are a predominantly Catholic, and mostly conservative nation. The President’s affairs make front page news regularly, and many French people are appalled by what they see as the president’s lack of morals.

Personally, I love a good scandal. If the rumors are true, I’m sending my warmest congratulations to Mr and future Mrs President.

Can you imagine if this happened in America? Remember all the commotion over Bill, Hillary and Monica?

Watch here for updates – I’ll be glued the French media for confirmation!

Source -

Daily Mail London ” Sarkozy Fiancee ‘Pregnant’ ”

Guardian “Affair of the State”