If U.S. women got a year's worth of
paid maternity leave like many other developed countries offer, * THAT * would be true breastfeeding support.
Not exact matches
As the labor market in the U.S. tightens, employers have turned to perks
like paid time off,
maternity leave, and signing bonuses — rather than higher wages in some instances — as the carrots they dangle to attract new talent.
But America — the greatest country in the world according to Americans — does not mandate
paid maternity leave because requiring companies to offer support to new mothers and fathers would undoubtedly turn America (pronounced «Amurrica») into a weak - kneed nanny state
like Europe.
Furthermore, Obama supports
paid maternity leave and expansion of programs
like the Nurse - Family Partnership, which allows low - income mothers to get one - on - one support from trained nurses.
Many mothers, unfortunately, still don't have access to
paid or even unpaid
maternity leave and are forced to return to work sooner than they might
like.
Other countries (
like here in Canada) have a longer,
paid,
maternity leave, which is voluntary, and I don't know anyone who's been asked why they wouldn't come back to work earlier.
«it gives the impression that every nursing mother is an attention - seeking lunatic» It also works against women who would
like to see more
paid maternity / parental
leave or flex time for working because it gives the idea that THIS is what women are going to do with that extra
paid time, show up topless to a public event and sit on the floor nursing in front of a formula company's table.
We
like to think that the U.S. Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) covers all families so that even if a couple does not get paid maternity and paternity leave, they can at least take off some time from work without losing their
Leave Act (FMLA) covers all families so that even if a couple does not get
paid maternity and paternity
leave, they can at least take off some time from work without losing their
leave, they can at least take off some time from work without losing their jobs.
I circle back to the fact that Badinter's book and all the others
like it are distracting us from addressing the real issues that, unlike co-sleeping and breast - feeding, truly do undermine the social and economic status of American mothers: issues
like the inability to find and
pay for quality childcare and the lack of
paid maternity leave.
And absolutely, the problem is SO MUCH BIGGER than one person's choices: the amount of misinformation floating around out there (and the amount of it that comes from otherwise intelligent, highly trained medical professionals), the lack of help and support for new nursing moms, the lack of adequate
maternity leave in the US (in Canada, where I live, one can take up to 50 weeks»
leave with unemployment
pay), the persistent idea that dads «need» to bottle - feed their babies in order to bond with them, the idea that formula is «normal» and breastfeeding is «best» — in some places it really seems
like you'd need a will of iron to keep at it when the going gets tough.
«But if we really want to improve maternal and child health in this country, let's also focus on things that can really do that in the long term —
like subsidized day care, better
maternity -
leave policies and more employment opportunities for low - income mothers that
pay a living wage, for example.»
Ms Harman said there was a «phoney perception» that hard - won rights for part time workers and on issues
like maternity leave and
pay would remain in place regardless of whether the UK was in the European Union or not.
Collaborating with groups
like the National Postdoctoral Association, which works on establishing living wages and
paid maternity and paternity
leave for postdocs, among other issues, could help make child rearing both financially possible and more gender equitable.
WoW a 35 hr work week and I think a 5 week vacation a year plus holiday - days and also women get
like 16 - 24 weeks «
maternity»
leave depending on how many kids at birth 16 for 1 and 26 for twins and it's
paid!!
And then things happen
like forgetting to fill out Box17A, which I later learned was the difference between receiving my
paid maternity leave and
paying the state of CA every last penny of said money.
I apparently skipped over Box 17A, and as far as the State of California was concerned, it looked
like we were trying to receive more than our fair share of
paid maternity leave.
Your company might even provide additional benefits,
like paid maternity leave, or you may be eligible for disability insurance.