Controversial Benefits Of Maternity And Paternity Leave

America being one the most industrialized nations it is shocking to most to discover that it does not provide a more beneficial maternity leave when compared to its European counterparts. Not only is Europe leading the way for a lengthier leave of absence for new mothers, they also provide financial benefits to those families with newborns, to American society this is not considered a cultural norm, in fact it is even bizarre to some that having a child while in the work force would even be beneficial. Consequently, the difficulty in accessing a reasonable maternity leave in America creates long term effects on a child’s development.

Becoming a parent is beautiful yet stressful time in many people's lives. Emotions of joy and worry fill the mind of expecting parents as they work to provide a loving and financially stable home for their family. Both parents wish to actively support their child and their spouse during this time of transition, however, corporations are making this task difficult. Maternity leave is a benefit that most companies provide, but only for their female employees. Male employees are not given the same opportunity to share the responsibility of childcare with their wife or to develop a bond early on with their child. Providing fathers maternity leave would give them time to dedicate themselves to the growth of their child, allow the mother to heal from giving birth, and promote equality within the family unit and in the workplace.

As we move into the new millennium more and more employers are allowing, some are even encouraging, their employees to bring their newborn babies to work with them. This is probably one of the greatest changes in child care norms that this country has seen in the past 30 years. Once upon a time, when a woman had a baby she almost always quit her job to raise her child, depending on her husband to support her and her child. Then along came the idea of maternity leave. This is when a woman takes a certain amount of time off to be with newborn. Once this time period was up, the woman still had a job to go back to. This meant that women no longer had to rely on their husbands for support. Unfortunately it also

Maternity leave is a retreat that all mothers should have the opportunity to experience after childbirth. The birth of a child can be exciting, exhausting, and challenging for all new mothers experiencing the joys of parenthood. Unfortunately for some working mothers living in the United States, maternity leave is not always guaranteed. The United States is one of the only developed countries in the world that doesn’t guarantee paid maternity leave. An idea so common in other countries is considered a luxury benefit for hard-working mothers in the United States.

Paid maternity leave protects families from financial stress and bombardment. Per the Washington Post in the article “Defending Paid Parental leave” on September 2, 2009, “One of the side effects of the bad economy is that good ideas that sound expensive begin getting ignored. Take paid parental leave. Making sure that parents can afford to take time off to have a baby is a good idea on a number of fronts. It protects families from the choice of financial calamity or time with a newborn.”

The government understood the difficulty of balancing work and childcare. As mentioned previously, FMLA permits mother to take medical leave for the period of time during which they are physically unable to work due to pregnancy, childbirth, recovery and related medical conditions. Additionally, both parents to take leave for the birth of a child, and for the placement of a child for adoption or foster. Thus, the leave allows the parents to bond with their child within one year of the child’s birth or placement. Nevertheless, according Gomby and Pei (2009), the two most important determinants of whether parents take leave are if the leave is paid and job-protected. Although FMLA provides job protection, it is unpaid, therefore many parents decide not to take it or may return to work earlier than they would have wanted to so they can support their

The lack of a paid parental leave law in the country does not necessarily mean that it is absent in the U.S. labor market. Some generous and more progressive companies do recognize the importance of the leave to employees and do offer it. According to the Employee Benefits Survey of 2015, 21% of employers nationally offer some paid maternity leave while 17% offer some paid paternity/adoption leave. However, about a fifth don’t have any kind of protected maternity, paternity, or adoptive leave. (Ray, 8; Time, n. pag.)

Studies have also found that maternity leave contributes to better development and the health of children. It has been concluded that infant mortality rates can be reduced by 0.5 deaths per 1,000 live births with an additional week of maternity leave (Hofferth, 2006). That fact alone should be reason enough to increase the length of maternity leave. Research has also demonstrated that breast milk contributes to a stronger immune system and disease prevention. However, breastfeeding tends to decrease when mothers return to work due to

It has been argued that maternity leave is not only harmful to business but also to women themselves, and that it can be a burden on businesses so they may think twice about employing women. (7) Where leave is given, whether paid or unpaid, businesses have to fill the position vacated by the parents and this in itself creates additional work and cost for employers who have to pay for job advertisements, background checks and time for interviews. They are also faced with the cost of training the temporary

The maternity leave laws make it difficult for women to not only have a child but be punished the workplace for having a child by not getting promotions, pay, and proper support. In an article by Abby McCloskey she explain, “The united states is the the only state in the developed world without a national paid-maternity-leave program. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 mandates that employers offer twelve weeks of job-protected leave to workers for family-related issues. But 40 percent of working women are ineligible, owing to the act’s various restrictions. Moreover, because it is unpaid, many mothers cannot afford to take this leave even if they are eligible to do so” (McCloskey 20). These lack of benefits have a direct impact on the financial situation women face around the world. Imagine being a single mother with the expenses of a new born baby with no pay check, benefits, or finical security. Making maternity leave benefits more of a priority in the United States will not only help solve the gender inequality problem but it will help prevent single mother avoid

In the United States, maternity leave is considering under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The Family and Medical Leave Act was constructed by the U.S. Department of Labor in 1993. This act states, “an eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following: (A) Because of the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and in order to care for such son or daughter. (B) Because of the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care. (C) In order to care for the spouse, or a son, daughter, or

If we as Americans plan to lead the world’s economy, we must start with our future, our children. According to Ruhm, Parental leave results in better prenatal and postnatal care and strengthened parental bonding over a child’s life (Ruhm, 2007). This time provides long-term benefits that improve a child’s brain development, social development and overall well-being. Below is a diagram from the California Work and Family Coalition, showing the impacts of pregnancy and bonding. For example, Mothers who stay home before delivery experience a lower rate for premature birth and less surgical

Paternity leave should be a right for all male workers for two weeks. Paternity leave is a period of absence from work granted to a father after or shortly before the birth of his child. Usually, pregnant women who are nearly due for delivery are able to take parental leave from their employment, what about men? Shouldn’t they have the ability to go on leave for the birth of their children? Paternity leave should be granted for male workers for many reasons. This essay will consider some of those reasons, such as if the partner is not well after the birth of the child, needs care and supervision or if she is going through tough pregnancy and needs her male partner to assist her delivering their child. It is also important for an infant-father bonding as much as an infant-mother bonding after the child is born. Also if a horrible circumstance occurs like mother passing away during her delivery, that would leave the father as the first and only carer.

There are some potential downsides to men having paid paternity leave. Most countries make parental leave open to both men and women; women take the vast majority of leave. When leave is long, this can have some consequences for women’s place in the labor market. For example, in Sweden parents have the right to a parental leave for up to 18 months, but women take nearly 85% of parental leave. The major goal of Swedish policy these days is to encourage men to take more parental leave; already there are two month “daddy only” leaves, which are lost to the couple if the father doesn’t take them. The problem with fathers taking paternity leave is that the fathers are scared to take leave for the fear that they may lose their jobs.

The article, “Without Taking Away Her Leave”: A Canadian Case Study of Couples Decisions on Father’s Use of Parental Leave” explains, “More than one in four Canadian fathers now takes some paid leave at the birth of a child.” While this certain explanation is shown in a positive perspective, more fathers in the workplace should be taking hefty advantage of paid parental leave particularly to form the bond in the first six weeks. While in countries like Canada in the province of Quebec, paternity leave is more accepted by men than it is in countries like the United States. In the United States it is more likely for a father not to take any time off after his child is born. One might argue that taking too much time off after the birth of a child might take away opportunities in the workplace, but because paternity leave is becoming more accepted, it will be normal for a man to take time off. It is likely that they will have to use vacation time which might leave room for not being able to call off for an emergency. In most cases, taking twelve weeks unpaid could really hurt a family. That is why those first six weeks should be paid for. The idea