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Maternity leave is basically asking the employers or consumers to subsidize other people's children.
There's no need for maternity leave. Pregnancy is a decision made by each individual not an unavoidable medical condition. They should have known how to manage child caring. For example, negotiating with the employer to take unpaid leave or just quit the job and find a new one later.
What's the difference between "Hey, I decided to travel the world for three months," and "Hey, I decided to have babies and need three months off." They are both personal decisions.
Maternity leave is basically asking the employers or consumers to subsidize other people's children.
There's no need for maternity leave. Pregnancy is a decision made by each individual not an unavoidable medical condition. They should have known how to manage child caring. For example, negotiating with the employer to take unpaid leave or just quit the job and find a new one later.
What's the difference between "Hey, I decided to travel the world for three months," and "Hey, I decided to have babies and need three months off." They are both personal decisions.
What's the difference? One involves a traumatic physical event that damages the body and requires time to heal deciding to travel does not. One involves making a major life adjustment that comes with sleepless nights that impact your ability to function and the other does not. One involves bonding with an infant and the other does not. If the mother is nursing one requires time to establish your milk supply and learn how to nurse and the other does not. Maternity leave is not the same as deciding to travel for three months by any stretch of the imagination.
Personally, I think healing time should be covered under sick time but I don't think employers should be required to cover extended leaves beyond that. When you're healthy enough to work it's a personal choice. I chose to return to work part time after my second child was born. I gave up 40% of my income to do that. No one owes me a thing. That was my personal choice. However, the first six weeks when I was recuperating I was in no condition to work.
Maternity leave falls under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which allows qualified workers of employers subject to its provisions to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off for medical or family reasons per year. Maternity, adoption, care-giving for spouses/parents, and illness are all covered, and leave is available to both men and women. About 2/3 of American workers work for employers covered by FMLA.
FTR, maternity leave or FMLA leave is not the same thing as an employer/manager/boss regularly allowing some workers to leave early because of having childcare responsibilities while expecting all others to work longer.
What's the difference? One involves a traumatic physical event that damages the body and requires time to heal deciding to travel does not. One involves making a major life adjustment that comes with sleepless nights that impact your ability to function and the other does not. One involves bonding with an infant and the other does not. If the mother is nursing one requires time to establish your milk supply and learn how to nurse and the other does not. Maternity leave is not the same as deciding to travel for three months by any stretch of the imagination.
Personally, I think healing time should be covered under sick time but I don't think employers should be required to cover extended leaves beyond that. When you're healthy enough to work it's a personal choice. I chose to return to work part time after my second child was born. I gave up 40% of my income to do that. No one owes me a thing. That was my personal choice. However, the first six weeks when I was recuperating I was in no condition to work.
There would be a lot of benefit for fathers getting paternity leave. I can't imagine that time to bond with their children when they are very young could be a bad thing. We need fathers to be more attached to their children. While the woman is the one making the physical adjustment I see no reason that dad can't be off to help her and to bond with his own children. I take off to care for my kids or dh when they are sick. Why not take off to help his wife recover and bond with his child?
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