In the News: More First-Time Mothers are Receiving Paid Maternity Leave than Ever

In a past post, we shared information about maternity leave practices and laws around the world, including information about requirements and programs offered in the United States. After that blog posted we received several reader comments providing updated parental leave information for several countries. You can read the post and reader comments that followed here.

Recently, there has been some buzz around a news report published by the US Census Bureau about first time mothers’ maternity leave and employment patterns in the United States.

According to the US Census Bureau, more first time mothers than ever before are receiving paid maternity leave. While the maternity leave laws have not changed, there are more moms in the workforce and more mothers using paid leave benefits. New census numbers show 50.8% of new mothers received paid leave between 2006 and 2008. This is up from 43% in 1986-1990. Where did these numbers come from? The US Census Bureau surveyed 3.4 million first time working moms between 2006 and 2008.

While these numbers are encouraging, the US remains only 1 of 3 countries that does not require paid maternity leave. The other 2 are Swaziland and Papua New Guinea.

Other Interesting Findings about First Time Moms’ Employment

• While 2/3 of new moms with college degrees received paid leave, only 19% of mothers without a high school diploma received paid leave.
• The mean age of mothers at the birth of their first child was 25 years; that’s up from 21.4 years in 1970.
• Education level had increased among mothers with almost ¼ completing a Bachelor’s degree or more, compared to only 9% in 1970.
• From 2006-2008, 66% of women worked while pregnant. About the same number worked in the 1980’s, but between 1961-1965, less than half (44%) of women worked during pregnancy.
• Among mothers who worked while pregnant, about 88% worked into their last trimester and 65% worked until the last month of pregnancy.
• Less than 10% returned to work by 3 months postpartum in 1961, whereas almost 45% returned to work by 3 months in 2005-2007.

-Source: US Census Bureau

What have been your experiences with parental leave? How old was your baby when you first returned to work after your baby’s birth? We’d love to hear your stories and thoughts.

Resources and References

For more about the family medical leave act (FMLA) in the United States, click here.

To read the full census report about maternity leave and employment patterns of first- time moms, click here.

Read a previous post about Preparing for Maternity Leave here.

Around the World: Parental Leave Laws

As part of our ongoing Around the World series, today’s post will explore parental leave laws in several different countries. The birth of a baby is a challenging and extraordinary time for parents. Parents need time to bond with their newborns and new mothers need time for their bodies to recover from the birth. Parental leave laws support new parents in 2 major ways: by providing job-protected leave to care for their infants and financial support during that leave. Unfortunately, not all countries provide paid, job-protected leave. This makes it difficult for parents, who rely on their salary to survive (which is the majority of us!), to be able to stay home during the early postpartum period. However, times are changing; many countries have combined their paternity- and maternity-leave laws into the more general parental leave to allow either one or both parents time at home with their newborns. Most countries provide between 12 weeks and 1 year of paid leave. Let’s look at some examples from around the world.

Maternity Leave Practices: The Numbers

One hundred and seventy eight countries guarantee some paid maternity leave under national law and 101 countries require 14 weeks or more of paid leave for new mothers. The average time new mothers worldwide can take off with pay after giving birth is 18 weeks. Three countries do not have a nationwide laws guaranteeing new mothers any paid time off following the birth of a child—Papua New Guinea, Swaziland and the United States. (Human Rights Watch, 2011)

Now for some specifics by country: the following table provides maternity leave information for countries that represent the majority of our readership. Next to each country we report the number of weeks of maternity leave mothers can qualify for and the % income that the mother receives during that time.

Source: Maternity at Work, ILO, 2010

The United States

As noted above, the United States is one of only 3 countries not offering paid leave at the national level. Some families in the US qualify for job-protected, unpaid leave through the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a program that sets minimum standards for parental leave in the United States. However, about 40% of U.S. workers are not eligible for FMLA because employees of small companies (fewer than 50employees) and short-term workers (must be with current employer at least 1 year and must have met a requirement for minimum hours worked) are not included. (Ray 2008) Only about 11% of American employees have the option of taking paid medical leave with only 2 states, California and New Jersey, offering paid leave.

In California, income replacement is available to workers that pay into State Disability Insurance (SDI) through the SDI program and the Paid Family Leave Act (PFLA). There are no additional requirements such as number of hours worked for an employer or size of company. However, those that are self-employed or earn less than $300 per year do not qualify to receive SDI. For more about who qualifies, visit the following website: http://www.las-elc.org/help-leaves.html

In New Jersey, the New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Law provides up to 6-weeks of cash benefits to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child. There are three plans: a state plan, a private plan and an unemployment plan. For more information, click here.

Australia’s New Laws

There are two programs in Australia that provide paid leave to new parents. First, the Australian Government announced a new paid Parental Leave program for Australian families just this month. The program offers 18 weeks of Parental Leave, paid at the National Minimum Wage, for parents of children born or adopted after January 1st, 2011. Only the “primary carer” of the child is eligible for the program, and it is noted that this is usually the mother. Other special circumstances will be considered on a case by case basis. Secondly, there is a Baby Bonus available to all workers with an adjusted taxable income of less than or equal to $75,000. A first installment of $879.77 is paid to parents initially followed by approximately $379.77every 2 weeks for 12 weeks.) If parents qualify for the Baby Bonus, they cannot receive both the bonus and parental leave; they must choose one of the two. For more information, click here.

Norway: The Most Family-Friendly Laws Worldwide

Parental leave laws in Norway provide 42 weeks at 100% pay or 52 weeks at 80% pay and the mother and father can choose to share the leave period with a few stipulations: 3 weeks before delivery and 6 weeks after delivery are reserved for the mother and 4 weeks are reserved for the father. The rest of the leave can be used by either parent. Norway tops the list of family-friendly places to live providing 4 weeks paid paternity leave starting in 1993. Only 2.4% of Norwegian fathers took leave in 1992, but by 1997, over 70% of fathers took paternity leave. Each parent is also entitled to up to 1 year of unpaid leave per child, and this is extended to up to 2 years for a single parent. (ILO study, Gender Equality and Decent Work: Good Practices at the Workplace) Other countries are stepping up to the plate to provide parental leave for fathers too. Currently 31 countries require 14 weeks or more of paid leave for new fathers. (Human Rights Watch, 2011)
Most Scandinavian countries also offer other progressive ideas such as "daddy leave," guaranteed rights to childcare, and cash payments for home-based care.

Importance of Family Leave Laws

Countries that have parental leave programs show increased productivity, reduced turnover of employees, and even health care savings. Paid parental leave laws enable more parents to stay home and care for their infants during a vital time in their infants’ growth and development and supports parents that want to return to the workforce following this time. As we look into the future, we hope that soon parents everywhere will be supported by leave laws so that they can spend the precious newborn period and beyond with their babies while maintaining their employment.

References & Resources:

Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality. By: Rebecca Ray, Janet C. Gornick and John Schmitt (September 2008). http://www.scribd.com/doc/5427460/Parental-Leave-Policies-in-21-Countries-Assessing-Generosity-and-Gender-Equality

Gender Equality and Decent Work: Good Practices at the Workplace. Maternity Protection International Labour Organization Convention No. 183, 2004.

MATERNITY AT WORK: A review of national legislation Findings from the ILO Database of Conditions of Work and Employment Laws. 2nd edition, 2010.

Failing Its Families: Lack of Paid Leave and Work-Family Supports in the US, Human Rights Watch, 2011.

Preparing for Maternity Leave

The last few months of work before going on maternity leave are a difficult time for mothers. You’re probably dealing with lack of sleep, an uncomfortable body, a kicking baby, and the stress and worries surrounding child birth. You also have to plan your maternity leave, get the nursery ready, and prepare yourself physically and mentally for the big day!


When I first started planning my maternity leave, I was about 6 months pregnant. I remember thinking “why do I need to start this now when I have so long to go?” At my last job, I didn’t have any flexibility with my work schedule. I had a hard time just getting time off for scheduled doctor appointments! If you have a hard time getting time off work, try scheduling your doctor appointments ahead of time so your employer has enough time to prepare.


One of the things I learned is the further along you are in your pregnancy, the more you don’t want to do anything; especially when it comes to dealing with lots of paperwork! Taking care of your maternity leave early is beneficial. If for some reason you had to go on disability early, it is one less thing you will need to worry about.


In the end, I was lucky. I was able to take 14 weeks off when I had my daughter, Elisabeth. I qualified for 8 weeks of state disability (California)* for having a c-section and 6 weeks of baby-bonding (California part of FMLA). Search the internet for more information about maternity leave benefits in your state or country.


I decided to leave work 3 weeks prior to my due date, although I didn’t end up delivering for 5 weeks. I guess that was lucky on my part; it gave me some extra, much needed time off. I was busy going to weekly doctor’s appointments, resting, and getting everything ready for the arrival of our first baby.


I almost forgot, now is a good time to start looking for childcare! I know it seems early, but it could take a long time, and most programs will have a waiting list (that could last for up to 2 years) for infants. Where I live, you probably have to start looking for child care before you get pregnant!


Here is an article about maternity leave benefits that I found to be helpful:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1434648/frequently_asked_questions_about_maternity.html?cat=17

*Talk to your employer regarding any extra policies they may require for maternity leave.



Next time: How to prepare to come back to work after your baby is born.