Emilee Kennedy
After a new baby is born, the parents will often be feeling many very intense emotions. Love, excitement and happiness- all positive in response to the arrival of their child. However, in the United States, certain laws and policies can also have parents feeling the opposite way. These parents are scared that they won’t be able to afford this new life, worried about all the time the new mother will need to heal, and stressed about the new costs and responsibilities this new life will consume. The United States has been severely lacking in implementing fair maternity leave policies nationwide. If we were to improve or replace our current laws, not only would new mothers and families reap the benefits, but also the employers and even economy- in the long run. Our country has been unfair in prioritizing businesses over people, and should endeavor to provide more comfort and financial safety for new parents as a national priority.
The United States is one of only eight countries in the entire world that offers no paid maternity leave to new mothers. Of those eight countries, it is the only high income country to not offer paid time off. For a small family or a single mother, that unpaid time off is difficult to recover from, especially with the sudden increase in household costs due to the new baby. According to a report by The American Department of Agriculture, it costs more that $233,000 dollars to raise a child (Lino). This study done in 2015 accounts for costs from birth to the age of 18, and excludes the expense of a college education. Adding another person to a household drastically increases overall costs, and the physical reality for women is that they need some time off of work to recover from childbirth. Fathers also generally are allowed the same amount of time of unpaid leave, but seldom take it due to the necessity of women taking the time off for physical recovery. This means less bonding time between the father and child (Wallace and Christenson). A study in 2012 even found that fathers who took ten days of leave to care for the child found that they would be more likely to be involved in their child’s life as well as child care activities. But with new mothers (and in some cases-fathers) not going to work, overall incomes drop drastically. Although the laws in place cause obvious financial stress on the families, they also cause proven emotional stress on the mothers and children.
Studies show that these limited breaks given to new mothers can cause increased chances of postpartum depression (Ingraham). Approximately one out of seven new mothers experience postpartum depression, which can reveal itself as increased anxiety, sadness, mood swings, and in some cases even an adverse reaction to their own baby (Lieber). Arnold Lieber, a medical doctor, asserts that these symptoms can last for several weeks. Postpartum depression is typically caused by unbalanced hormones, changes in relationships, or emotional stressors including financial stress. It’s no wonder that there is an increased chance of this illness in the United States, where mothers are guaranteed no paid leave. Despite knowing they are causing stress on themselves, mothers are hesitant to leave work towards the end of their pregnancy, and rush to return due to financial strain. The limited time that they have to enjoy their baby is overshadowed by the stress of a reduced income, causing unnecessary stress that could result in postpartum depression. However, mothers are not the only ones who are negatively affected by unfair family leave policies. Limited contact time with the parents also has negative effects on the child. Breastfeeding is so crucial to the health of a child that many pediatricians agree that it is the best thing a mother can do to help a newborn thrive. A study in California in 2011 found that women with access to paid maternity leave breastfed for nearly twice as long as mothers who didn’t (Heymann). Breastfeeding has been found to reduce the chances of asthma, obesity, and infant sudden death syndrome in babies, while simultaneously benefiting the mother with reduced risks of breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes, and heart disease (Wallace and Christensen). However, after going back to work some mothers find the hassle of breastfeeding or pumping to not be worth the benefits. Very few employers offer convenient places for breastfeeding/pumping breast milk, and up until recently most mother were forced to do so hidden away in their office or locked in a bathroom. Being forced to pump in these conditions everyday are enough to make most mothers quit, assuming that the hassle and embarrassment isn’t worth it. There is significant research proving all the negative effects of short maternity leave as listed above, but there have also been studies that show how intense the positive effects are after countries provide better benefits to new families.
In countries where at least one parent stays home after a birth, we see significant increases in their quality of care over the first few years. Children whose parents were offered paid leave are 25% more likely to get vaccines, simply because they have the extra time to focus on their children (Wallace and Christensen). The reality of paid parental leave is that we will be more likely in the future to have increased well being of both mother and child. Mauricio Avendano Pabon, a professor at Harvard School of Public Health claims “This is really what economists call a human capital investment. You invest in this, you will end up picking up the benefits of this policy even years later.” So why is the US Government so hesitant to invest in the future of their own citizens, and create laws to enforce the necessity of paid parental leave? The truth is that America values businesses over people. With all of this proof of benefits for both the mother and child, there is no feasible reason paid family leave is still so inaccessible in the US, especially when other countries have implemented fair maternity leave policies with great success.
Finland is one of the frontrunners for best family benefits in the world. They have proved several times that their overall compassion and concern for the wellbeing of new families should be prioritized in a country. They are currently much further along on the path of fair maternity leave. This makes sense considering their first legal maternity guidelines were enacted in 1938, 55 years before America passed its first laws pertaining to family leave. Something unique that Finland provides to new mothers is a Maternity Care Package. These became available for all mothers in 1949, and provide childcare essentials such as clothing, bedding, diapers, and even educational material. The care package itself even doubles as a sleeping cot, perfect for a low income family. Finland has excelled in the field of providing adequate family leave. They also offer Maternity Grants, or lump sums of money to qualifying parents. This is unheard of in the United States, and this is only one example of why Finland is the most progressive country in terms of fair family medical leave. New parents in Finland are offered up to 104 days (3 months) of leave after the birth of their child. After this period of full pay, there are various services available to parents that can provide them with their partial, or occasionally even their full salary until the child turns 3. After the child has passed the age that this is offered, there are programs that can provide either partial childcare allowances or daycare allowances for working parents. The United States bleak family leave laws are nothing compared to the compassionate guidelines set by the Finnish government. Considering all the benefits that other first world countries are able to offer new parents, the details of America’s laws seem downright cruel.
The United States should be ashamed of its lack of family leave. Other high income countries are willing and glad to offer up to three years of paid leave. The US has always lagged behind its other high-income counterparts, passing the first law pertaining to family leave in 1993. FMLA, or the Family Medical Leave Act passed to guarantee 12 weeks unpaid leave to new mothers and fathers after a birth or adoption (Sholar). However, even this is difficult to be eligible for. By passing this vague law, the US decided that although workers who had to leave for family reasons are entitled to job security, whether they receive paid leave should be up to individual employers. While it is an option for employers, according to the National Women’s Law Center only 12% of workers are offered paid family leave. Although the reality of current laws in the US seem hopeless, there is a new legislation being pushed into Congress that could mean better rights for new parents. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (or the FAMILY Act) was proposed by Representative Rosa DeLauro and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and was introduced in 2017 (S. 337). The Act was proposed as a form of mandatory taxpayer-funded insurance, and would offer 12 weeks of paid leave to new mothers and father at a 34% pay cut (FAMILY Act FAQ). It is based on states with paid leave programs that are in place and showing incredible success such as in California, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. No further action has been taken on this proposal yet, but it’s existence is already a good sign for the future of family leave in America.
The few months after childbirth are some of the most emotional and challenging times for a new family. Increased financial stress can cause issues for all members of the family, which can result in serious mental issues later on. Paid maternity and paternity leave for these families could solve some of these issues, creating a healthier environment for the parents as well as the child. More time away from work could drastically increase the wellbeing of a child and the mother, with proof of better physical and mental health even years after birth. The future of improved family leave in the US looks bright, and hopefully the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act will be addressed by Congress in the near future. Raising a new baby is a challenge itself, and adding financial struggles and other stress to the family can be disastrous. The laws on required family leave should be less based on the inconvenience to the employers and more concerned with the wellbeing of the parents and child.
Works Cited
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