Before I even get started, here is a sampling of the news headlines that are appearing in relation to a study indicating mothers who work outside the home are in better health than stay-at-home mothers. Working mothers less likely to become obese -- Working moms healthier than full-time homemakers -- Mothers who work enjoy better health -- Working Moms -- Healthier and thinner. According to researchers who analyzed data from a study that tracked the health of women born in 1946 -- women who were employed outside the home were less likely than stay-at-home mothers and single mothers to report poor health or to be obese in middle age. Obesity is a known lifestyle factor contributing to a greater risk for a number of cancers. However, Dr Anne McMunn, of the University College in London, takes obesity into a debatable realm when she states that it has been known for some time that women who combine employment with motherhood and partnership have better health.
Do you want to know the researchers explanation for this phenomenon? Mothers who were employed outside the home are multi-tasking and living multiple roles in life. Does this suggest stay-at-home mothers do not multi-task or fulfill multiple roles? The philosophical leanings of the researchers need to be called into question regarding the objectivity and possible personal bias going into this study. The study almost smacks of another attempt to settle the stereotypical debate of good mother -- bad mother when it comes to being a mother in modern society -- this time on the basis of which group of mothers is thinner or healthier and less likely to be at risk for disease.
To begin with, the term working mother is redundant. You can be a working mother who is employed full-time outside the home, or you can be a working mother who is a full-time homemaker, but you cannot be a mother who does not work. Second, the suggestion that there are more skinny mothers in the workplace or corporate world -- or that there are more obese mothers at home full-time -- is ludicrous. Look around.
And third -- how relevant is this study to the reality of the lives of 21st century mothers? With the introduction of the desktop computer -- home-based businesses, telecommuting and freelance jobs is an ever increasing means of earning a living for today's stay-at-home mothers. Obesity is a real problem leading to the real risk of developing diseases like cancer. To somehow connect obesity to the weighted mommy wars seems more of a political agenda than a scientific investigation seeking solutions to real health problems.
