Sorry to keep talking politics, but there have been so many conversations in recent weeks about women in the political arena, the glass ceiling and the juggling act that parents have to maintain in order to take care of their families and contribute to society.

Last week, during their speeches at the Democratic National Convention, both Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton spoke about their role as mothers.

In addition to describing herself as a proud American, Democrat and supporter of Barack Obama, Clinton started off her speech by saying she was “a proud mother.”

Michelle Obama also spoke about her children early on in her speech: “I come here as a Mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world -- they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future -- and all our children's future -- is my stake in this election.”

While listening to NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” last week (the focus was “Where Does Feminism Go From Here?), one female caller from Washington D.C. asked journalist Susan Faludi: “I’m wondering have we not moved beyond the point where a woman politician has to be a wife and mother first and then she can be a politician?”

Although I’m not a politician, this is an issue I often think about. When I worked in the newsroom, I didn’t want to be identified as the “mommy reporter.” But I quickly realized that motherhood helps define who I am and I can’t deny that part of me. Being a mom shapes my life and how I see the world.

Is it possible to separate motherhood from one’s identity? Have other moms out there struggled with this issue?

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