Are you pregnant? Are you aware that you are guaranteed 12 weeks of maternity leave thanks to the Family and Medical Leave Act. Did you also know that the majority of women that have babies now also have full time jobs? So what has happened over the years as more women became the major source of income for a lot of families that now can not afford to take advantage of the 12 weeks of maternity leave that is guaranteed to them. Why because it’s unpaid and there are only 5 states in the US that offer some sort of paid leave benefit although often not enough to cover the amount of lost wages.
So what’s the result of all this? More women are working up to birth and then going back to work as soon as physically possible. They really have no choice either since they are most likely a major source of the family income if not the only source and now there is another mouth to feed. Why do i bring all this up? Well I just read this article about some studies done on the effects of taking a full maternity leave vs working up to and soon after the birth of the child.
Not surprising both studies determined that there were greater health benefits to both the mom and child when they took the 12 full weeks of maternity leave. The four weeks prior to birth and a full 8 weeks after child birth. When moms were able to take full advantage of the maternity leave there were a decreased number of cesarean deliveries and an increase number of successful breast feeding connections after the child was born.
These studies are great and I am sure that the news that they are validating the health benefits of taking a full maternity leave is not really a shocker to anyone. Unfortunately unless there is a dramatic shift from unpaid to paid maternity leave not many women will be able to take advantage of a full maternity leave.
Honestly if we really are serious as a society as the value of the quality of health our new moms and babies should be getting than it’s about time that companies step up collectively and start paying for maternity leave in full. Because it’s simply the right thing to do, that’s why.
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Women who plan ahead can create maternity leave pay and afford to stay home and bond with baby.
Bought preconception, short term disability insurance pays a six week benefit for vaginal delivery, and an eight week benefit for c-section birth. A policy bought twelve months before giving birth will see benefits that are three times the premium – the excess is her maternity leave pay.
The same policy pays an additional benefit in the event of a pregnancy disability leave due to complications, and for accidents and illnesses that cause her to miss work.
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