Interesting Article about (lack of) Maternity Leave

marisha1021 · May 2012

https://www.momsinmaine.com/2012/05/wake-up-moms-youre-fighting-the-wrong-fight/

smiley289 · May 2012

Loved the article. I knew how bad maternity leave was before reading this, but the more people are educated as to how bad things really are, the better. Families of this country need to rally behind this point before any significant change will ever happen.

marisha1021 · May 2012

I have been consulting as I look for FT work (lay offs, fun), and decided to not even bother when I unexpectedly got pregs. I get to spend time with my kiddo when it gets here and not have to rush back to work because I won't qualify for FMLA. I am also lucky that I have been able to get work from home projects that are paying well, and SO ... he will be busting his butt.

Whereas, my friend in London has been with her office for less than a year, and is off on a 12 month maternity leave, which started 4 weeks before her son arrived. She won't be getting full pay the entire time (i think in time it goes from 100%, 75%, 50%, 0%), but her job is secure. Her hubs got 2 weeks paternity.

It is just so very unfair.

nanabanana06 · May 2012

What about Canada? They get a year Mat leave too. It sucks! Thankfully, I'm a SAHM so it doesn't matter to me. It would just be awesome if we had that as well. I personally think 6-8 weeks is too early for babies to be in daycare.

dackelynn · May 2012

I'm lucky enough to be an expat in Sweden and I could have never ever financially pulled off getting pregnant and having a kid in the US. I'll be taking over a year off (partly at 80%, it's more complicated than the article states) and everyone in Sweden gets about 150 USD a month for just HAVING A CHILD, period, until the child turns 18. Daycare is also highly subsidized - the rates vary depending on income level - but it will never get close to the rates in the US. Also, everything related to having a child is 100% free - I was absolutely shocked when I first found this out. I wish the US could adopt some of these reforms.

dackelynn · May 2012

Oops when I wrote "related to having a child" I meant medically - and only at public clinics (private ones charge their own fees) - it's not like we get free strollers or anything like that.

ilovelife · May 2012

Finland gives their educators 3 years of maternity leave....thats what we need to be doing!

Rhomonk · May 2012

MrsSparklebottom:

I know this is a total UO, but here goes.

I don't think maternity leave is a right. Would I love it if I got a year off to stay home and hang out with my kid, and get paid? Hell yeah. But is it the government's/my employer's responsibility to fund my reproductive choices? Nope.

Agreed!

smiley289 · May 2012

MrsSparkle, I think it's more complicated of an issue than just saying that the government shouldn't have to pay for a woman to have babies and not work. I really feel that the lack of protection for pregnant women with their jobs has a lot of room for improvement when compared with other industrialized nations.

drubie · May 2012

I also think that maternity/paternity leave has to be looked at for an entire population, not just individual cases. Sure, you might think that your own, personal choices shouldn't be subsidized. But consider that providing significant (6+ months) of paid maternity leave provides significant gains (health, education, mental well-being, etc.) for the community as a whole. It's not just about YOU, but about everyone...kind of like how education isn't just about your own kid, but about educating an entire generation, an entire workforce. We try to do things that are right for individuals, but nations need to make choices for the benefit of their citizens, as a collective. Maternity leave is also not just about bumming around with your child for 6 months to a year...

stdldb29 · May 2012

I get no paid maternity leave, anything I took beyond my 10 sick/personal days were paid out of my pocket. Sucked, but I'm glad I did it. I don't mind the way mine played out-it was only fair.

stdldb29 · May 2012

amy052006:
Listen, if we don't have to subsidize the life choices of others, I will gladly stop paying into my insurance pool for anyone who I wish wouldn't breed. What a joke -- we all fund everyone's choices everyday. I certainly didn't chose to enter a war, but I have to fund that!
It's to everyone's (including employers) best interests to have an extended maternity leave. let's face it --- the AAP recommends EBF for six months. Six months is hard as hell to pull off if you go back to work. Furthermore,study after study shows EBF babies are sick less, and the mothers of BF babies actually miss less work.
Not to mention, it is cheaper in the long run for an employer to hold your job for six months than for you to quit at week 6 of your maternity leave and not go back. How you feel leaving a six month old for work can be vastly different than how you feel leaving a six week old.
And finally, the idea that our maternity leave system is fine when it is so grossly inadequate compared to every other civilized nation is just ignorant. The whole idea is just so uniquely American -- to think we obviously have the right idea and are the only ones who could possibly be doing it right. sometimes if you are the only one doing something one way, you are the one who is wrong, not everyone else.

I'm not understanding your breastfeeding argument--you can pump at work.

My kids started daycare at 6 weeks-both were breastfed past a year, up to 7 months exclusively. And-I actually had to do some training when my DS was 5 days old---he came with me for that. I don't expect my employer to pay me maternity AND pay someone else to do my job because I am out raising my kid for a year. Most employers dont just "hold" your job-they have to find someone else to do that job while you are out.

I paid out for everyday that I was out on leave---after I used up my 10 sick/personal days.

I would almost feel uncomfortable for someone to pay me for an entire year while I was out on maternity leave, knowing that I wasn't actually earning that money. I just can't imagine taking something that I didn't earn.

judahsmommy1 · May 2012

amy052006:
People realize that in places like Canada, your employer isn't "paying" you and a replacement, right? That it is actually an insurance benefit you pay into, not entirely unlike the American unemployment system?
that's great you worked and breastfed -- so did I for 15 months. I am just not naive enough to believe every woman has that option. Any employer not bound by FMLA can decide you can't pump at work. And US pumping laws only cover hourly paid employees at FMLA qualifying places of business. So if you're salaried, yes legally your boss can be all over you about the 45 minutes a day you spend pumping. In fact,most of the people I know who have encountered pumping pressure in the workplace are actually higher level salaried employees with demanding careers.

I do support breastfeeding laws that protect a woman's ability to pump at work. I feel that's important. But I agree with a PP that I don't believe that maternity leave should be an inherent right. There are a lot of things that the US did, and does differently than other nations. Our immigration policies are VASTLY different than the policies of other developed nations. But when it's suggested that we change those policies to reflect what is common in other countries people get up in arms!

There will always be a need to balance the needs of the individual vs the needs of the business. America has typically erred on the side of the business as opposed to the individual because of the free market system that our country was founded on. There are good things and bad things that come along with that.

Rhomonk · May 2012

amy052006:

People realize that in places like Canada, your employer isn't "paying" you and a replacement, right? That it is actually an insurance benefit you pay into, not entirely unlike the American unemployment system?

that's great you worked and breastfed -- so did I for 15 months. I am just not naive enough to believe every woman has that option. Any employer not bound by FMLA can decide you can't pump at work. And US pumping laws only cover hourly paid employees at FMLA qualifying places of business. So if you're salaried, yes legally your boss can be all over you about the 45 minutes a day you spend pumping. In fact,most of the people I know who have encountered pumping pressure in the workplace are actually higher level salaried employees with demanding careers.

I have found the opposite to be true. Many of my friends pumped at work with no issues, and they had demanding jobs and were salaried. My company is a major pharma company and has "nurture spaces", which are private rooms for woman to go to pump during the work day.

Not saying it's a perfect system, but not all work areas are against breast feeding working mothers.

Rhomonk · May 2012

amy052006:

Obviously they all aren't -- like I said I breastfed for 15 months while working. But to say you can just "pump at work" is way too simplistic.

For example, one of my very good friends controls her own work flow, has a ton on autonomy, and works at what on the surface is a very breastfeeding friendly employers. That doesn't mean at some point the subtle pressure from colleagues and bosses about disappearing three times a day does not happen.

a comfy room to pump in that HR mandates is great, but it is hardly the only obstacle to pumping in the work place. DH's office has a gym everyone is encouraged to used -- that doesn't mean individual managers don't get annoyed by it and hold it against employees in their own ways.

That's fine, but breastfeeding doesn't mean you should have an extended maternity leave. Like other PP said, I don't think it's a right. There's a lot of things other countries do that we don't do. Does it suck? Yes. Do I think we can approve the maternity leave in the US? Yes. However, I don't think it's an automatic long maternity leave.

stdldb29 · May 2012

Rhomonk:
amy052006:

Obviously they all aren't -- like I said I breastfed for 15 months while working. But to say you can just "pump at work" is way too simplistic.

For example, one of my very good friends controls her own work flow, has a ton on autonomy, and works at what on the surface is a very breastfeeding friendly employers. That doesn't mean at some point the subtle pressure from colleagues and bosses about disappearing three times a day does not happen.

a comfy room to pump in that HR mandates is great, but it is hardly the only obstacle to pumping in the work place. DH's office has a gym everyone is encouraged to used -- that doesn't mean individual managers don't get annoyed by it and hold it against employees in their own ways.

That's fine, but breastfeeding doesn't mean you should have an extended maternity leave. Like other PP said, I don't think it's a right. There's a lot of things other countries do that we don't do. Does it suck? Yes. Do I think we can approve the maternity leave in the US? Yes. However, I don't think it's an automatic long maternity leave.

I agree. Not a right.

steph&michael · May 2012

I think we need guaranteed maternity leave. Maybe not necessarily paid, but there should be voluntary maternity leave insurance and a 6 month to 1 year guaranteed job for all mothers. I have to wait 3 years between my kids to save up enough time to get any leave because I'm part time and therefore not protected by FMLA (I'm an RN in a hospital and unit that are hard to get into). It's not financially beneficial to this country that women who are educated and working are reducing the number of children they have while people who are solely educated on milking the system have as many babies as they can, yet that's whats happening.

Kissty · May 2012

I'm currently having the fight at work. They only want to give 6-8 wks. Doesn't matter what my Dr. has said. So unless there is a MAJOR complication they won't approve anything longer. Gee, thanks. My hubs gets nothing, he will have to use his vacation time. He REALLY appreciates that. As a country we are so far behind. We are supposed to be leading the way. Moms are the rock and foundation of the family and the country, it's time we are looked upon as that and appreciated for it.

ELCJet · May 2012

While I don't believe it's anybody's job to subsidize maternity leave, I do believe that jobs should be protected a little longer than they currently are and that FMLA should be expanded to small companies. I understand that logistically it makes it difficult, but it's very hard to return to work when your episiotomy still isn't healed and your colicky baby is still giving you 4 hours of sleep a night. Who wants that employee working??

I'd love the option to pay more in short term disability so that I could get more than 6 weeks of coverage......

marisha1021 · May 2012

Job security should be a given. I have friends that forego the opportunity to have children earlier in life and panic when they are pregnant because of what it means to their careers to get pregnant and spend more than the hour daily break pumping and don't have a chance to grab lunch. SHould the government pay women to take extended maternity? No. Should there be an option to pay into a subsidy for hard working women that don't want to spend the majority of their pregnancy worried that they won't have a job or halt their climb up the ladder, Sure. Why not?

Want a personalized experience?

Interesting Article about (lack of) Maternity Leave

Re: Interesting Article about (lack of) Maternity Leave

Choose Another Board

Search Boards