It is undeniable that paid maternity leave has a multitude of positive health benefits for both the mother and child. Of the 195 countries recognized today, 187 have paid maternity leave and 90 have paid paternity leave. Why is it that the United States has not joined the significant majority of countries in the world by offering paid maternity and paternity leave?
Currently, the Family Medical Leave Act allows mothers working at companies with 50 or more employees to have 12 weeks of unpaid leave, and it protects women from being fired during this time. This act, however, excludes fathers and new adoptive parents from reaping the benefits of the policy, which further perpetuates antiquated gender roles in American society.
Supporting an unpaid family leave policy is simply not enough for working-class families. Families of lower socioeconomic status are disproportionately impacted by unpaid parental leave because of the additional expenses from a new family member and reduced income from absence at work. It is crucial for the government to implement policies to help these families by enacting programs for paid family leave. The US should radically reform its parental leave policy in such a way that it gives all parents time away from their jobs in order to care for their new children.
Paid family leave results in an abundance of long-term benefits for both the mother and child. One of them is overall better health during childhood and into adulthood. Some of the sources for these benefits are “longer duration of breastfeeding among mothers on leave, and more parental time spent with children.” Increased parental presence during a child’s formative months is associated with lower infant and child mortality, higher cognitive scores, and better parent-infant bonding, according to a report by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP). Paid family leave would allow parents to spend more time with their children, which fosters a more nurturing home environment and caters to the newborn’s development.
Mothers are also subject to benefits: they are found to have lower rates of postpartum depression and depressive symptoms after birth, more complete physical and psychological recoveries, and overall greater physical and emotional well-being, according to the same NCCP report.
Although medical and developmental impacts are overwhelmingly positive for both parents and children, the impacts on employers and businesses also need to be addressed. Opponents of paid family leave policies assert that the economic disadvantages outweigh the reasons for supporting paid parental leave. President Donald Trump even said that “pregnancy is an inconvenience for a business.” According to an Ernst & Young survey from 2017, “90% of companies with paid family leave policies found there was either a positive or neutral impact on productivity [and] morale” in the workplace. In the United Kingdom, another survey concluded that businesses with parental leave policies were “60% more likely to report that their financial performance was higher than average” in comparison to businesses without paid parental leave policies.
Moreover, the NCCP reports that paid parental leave policies provide greater job retention for working parents, greater economic security, and higher employment rates and compensation for women. As a result, paid parental leave reduces inequalities in the workforce.
But, how do we pay for this? We can look to other developed countries and states that already have such policies in place as models. In New York State, benefits are funded by small employee payroll deductions. In the European Union, most of the paid leave programs are financed by the state, but in countries such as France, Finland, and Switzerland, the employer pays the allowance. Due to the current US healthcare system, it is more likely that families will finance their own paid family leave by small payroll taxes unless the healthcare system is also radically reformed. Another possible solution is a government-financed program in which funds are reallocated from other less crucial programs to a paid family leave program; at the very least, the government could supplement the payroll taxes with additional funds for businesses and families.
Paid family leave should undoubtedly be the law of the land in the US. While some disapprove of federal government-sponsored paid family leave, that it is the only way to ensure comprehensive reform: it would allow equal access for all families. An investment in the well-being of families and support of paid family leave is an investment in the future of our nation. This plan should be seriously considered by legislators across the country.
Cassi Niedziela
