When it comes to motherhood, Hillary Frank has seen — and reported on — it all.
The Staples High School Class of 1994 member — who left after junior year, headed directly to Tufts University — has carved out a national niche as a “mom’s expert.”
She’s not an advice giver — plenty of women do that. Instead she reports on life as a mother. It’s a rich vein, and she’s done it for “This American Life,” “Studio 360,” “Marketplace” and “All Things Considered.” She’s written 3 novels.
Hillary Frank
And for the past 8 years, Hillary’s podcast “The Longest Shortest Time” has covered stories mothers may not even know they need to hear. Topics include miscarriages, the NICU, and a lifelong vegetarian who thought her son’s digestive problem came from her breast milk, and began eating meat.
Along the way, she’s learned many things. Including the fact that even in the waning days of 2018, motherhood is still a topic deemed unimportant by many.
And that includes other women.
Hillary wanted to do a story on why many mothers who suffer childbirth injuries live with pelvic pain long after giving birth. They are resigned to painful sex — or no sex at all — even though most injuries can be remedied by pelvic floor physical therapy.
The editors — one female, one male — thought her focus on sex after injury was inappropriate. But, Hillary notes, there is no shortage of stories — on the radio, and everywhere else — about erectile dysfunction.
Hillary shares that story — and other cogent observations on life as a motherhood expert — in today’s New York Times. Her op-ed piece is called “The Special Misogyny Reserved for Mothers.”
Will anything change in 2019?
Stay tuned — to Hillary Frank’s podcast.
(Click here to read today’s op-ed story by Hillary Frank. Click here for a link to her podcasts.)
