In their study of
outcomes for children in the U.S., Berger, Hill, and Waldfogel compared children whose mothers were still at home at twelve weeks after childbirth (the
maximum leave permitted under the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act) with those whose mothers returned to work earlier.8 - 9 They found that children whose mothers returned to work in less than twelve weeks fared
worse on a number of health and development
outcomes.