Paid Maternity Leave for Both Parents
The US government has offered many benefits to it's citizens throughout the decades. We have a great military system that protects us, freedom to choose our own sexual identities, and women's rights to choose what what she wants to do with her own body, are just three very small examples of the great benefits we receive as US citizens. As great as our system is, one major complaint that I share, along with many other parents, is the US policy on maternity leave; or should I say the lack of policy. According to Wikipedia, FMLA requires 12 weeks of unpaid leave for mothers with newborns. The policy promises to protect women from getting fired while they are recovering from such a strenuous medical situation. As thankful as I am for that, the US government can and should add a few more things into that policy.
The first thing they should change is the amount of time from 12 weeks, to a minimum of 16 weeks. According to the World Health Organization, the minimum amount of time a woman needs to fully recover from giving birth is 16 weeks.
The second thing that should change is the fact that the leave is unpaid. Giving birth to a child is expensive. According to Business Insider, the average cost for having a baby is anywhere from $15,000-$30,000. Not to mention the doctors visits following the birth, the supplies needed to take care of the child, and the fact that bills will continue to hit each month (rent, phone, internet, etc). The last thing a new mother should be worrying about is how she will pay her bills on time.
The third and final change should be allowing father paid maternity leave as well. Currently the policy doesn't allow fathers to take any time off from work. While the father doesn't need 16 weeks of leave, he should be allowed at least 4 weeks of paid leave. This would be great since it would allow him to help with the baby, leading to better rest for the mother. It would also allow for father and child bonding time. That's something a lot of fathers miss out on but is very important.
I think that if the FMLA adopted these 3 changes into their current requirements, that families would be closer, women would be healthier, and all together it would be just one more cherry on top for the benefits that we are currently already receiving in the US.
The first thing they should change is the amount of time from 12 weeks, to a minimum of 16 weeks. According to the World Health Organization, the minimum amount of time a woman needs to fully recover from giving birth is 16 weeks.
The second thing that should change is the fact that the leave is unpaid. Giving birth to a child is expensive. According to Business Insider, the average cost for having a baby is anywhere from $15,000-$30,000. Not to mention the doctors visits following the birth, the supplies needed to take care of the child, and the fact that bills will continue to hit each month (rent, phone, internet, etc). The last thing a new mother should be worrying about is how she will pay her bills on time.
The third and final change should be allowing father paid maternity leave as well. Currently the policy doesn't allow fathers to take any time off from work. While the father doesn't need 16 weeks of leave, he should be allowed at least 4 weeks of paid leave. This would be great since it would allow him to help with the baby, leading to better rest for the mother. It would also allow for father and child bonding time. That's something a lot of fathers miss out on but is very important.
I think that if the FMLA adopted these 3 changes into their current requirements, that families would be closer, women would be healthier, and all together it would be just one more cherry on top for the benefits that we are currently already receiving in the US.
Hey Laura,
ReplyDeleteAs a mother I agree with on your first request, when you are talking about the extension of maternity leave for mothers from twelve weeks to sixteen weeks. I have heard of mothers that struggle on making the decision to use some of that time before the birth or just wait until the last minute after they have their baby. In the first place if all of this maternity privilege is about the mother and the baby, the mother the last month of the pregnancy is feeling miserable. She should not have to decide to just wait until the baby arrives to gets some rest. I strongly think that at least the last two weeks if possible the mother to be should be resting and getting ready for labor.
I'm not to sure about your second request. As much as I would love to get paid for that time, I think that would be something a little harder to get. I do agree with your point especially with single mothers or families with low income that for starters that is why low income families begin with the pregnancy because of not so cheap anticonceptives. I would love to see a change about this. Life is already too hard sometimes and there is only so much we can do to help others.
On your third request I also agree with you, but honestly this is not about the government, it is mostly about the cheap companies that want to cover that for their employees. My husband works for AT&T as a Prompt Tech and when I gave birth to my last baby on July 28, 2018, my husband was allowed to stay home with us with paid parental leave for a whole month. So, I think The FMLA totally approves it but the stingy companies are the ones not wanting to pay for that.