We Need More Maternity/Paternity Leave
I was lucky enough to work for a company that offers short-term disability when I had both of my boys. My only problem with that is that when women have babies, we are not disabled. we are superheroes! Can we change that? Though I was lucky, not all moms in the United States are that lucky. We as a country are light-years behind all others when it comes to maternity and paternity leave.
I was off 8 weeks and my husband got about 2 weeks off. Poor Shawn and his wife didn’t have that same experience for their boys. Marsha didn’t have any paid time off at all but Shawn got a couple of weeks off.
There are so many countries that are better than we are when it comes to finding a way for parents to spend time with their babies when they are born. It’s no secret we need to do better. Stop shaming parents too! Shamed if you stay home and don’t “make money” shamed if you work and have someone else take care of your kids while you are trying to provide. Can we all do better?
Some countries that go above and beyond for mothers, fathers, and babies are:
Bulgaria:
Mothers get up to 410 days off for maternity leave. Cover 90% of the employee’s salary while out. By law the mom must take 45 days off prior to delivering, then they get 48 after and then the additional 275 is given based on the family’s needs.
Greece:
In Greece, employees can take just shy of one year off from their jobs for maternity leave. Moms are given 8 weeks prior to giving birth and then they get 9 weeks post.
United Kingdom:
Moms in the United Kingdom get up to 39 weeks of paid time off for maternity leave and 52 unpaid.
Canada:
Moms get 15 weeks paid maternity leave at 55% of their pay, plus they get 40 weeks of parental benefits to share at 55% of their pay.
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