M: Maternity/Paternity Leave

Paid family leave combats poverty, gives children a healthy start, and lowers the wage gap between women and men by providing structural support to balance work and family.

Selena's Story

Selena's baby boy, Connor, was born six weeks early. As Connor was rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care unit, Selena found herself alone in a hospital bed realizing that she was going to go home well before her baby. "There was no way we could afford for me to take off more than we planned,” recalls Selena. So after Selena had the baby on Thursday, she was released from the hospital Friday, and was back at her desk on Monday morning. “It was the hardest two and a half weeks of my life,” she says recalling the ache of being away from her newborn son. More

Know the Facts

Having a baby is a leading cause of "poverty spells" in the U.S. -- when income dips below what's needed for basic living expenses.
In the U.S., 49% of mothers cobble together paid leave following childbirth by using sick days, vacation days, disability leave, and maternity leave.
51% of new mothers lack any paid leave -- so some take unpaid leave, some quit, some even lose their jobs.
The U.S is one of only 4 countries that doesn't offer paid leave to new mothers -- the others are Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and Lesotho.
Paid family leave has been shown to reduce infant mortality by as much as 20% (and the U.S. ranks a low 37th of all countries in infant mortality).

What You Can Do

MomsBlogging on Maternity & Paternity Leave

Taxes, breastfeeding supplies & confusion

Posted February 14th, 2012 by Ashley Boyd

With just two months left before April 15th, millions of Americans like me are waking up to the reality that we’ve got to gather those piles of receipts and hunker down with that dreaded tax return. Last year at about this time, breastfeeding mothers like me rejoiced when the IRS reversed a previous decision and declared that [...]

The State of the States is…Masculine: Women Urgently Needed in State Legislatures!

Posted February 8th, 2012 by Miriam Feffer

With presidential primaries in full swing, each state stands to enjoy a moment in the spotlight. As riveting as the recent political theatrics have been, the campaign season also underscores just how many important decisions are made at the state level. From education to health care to workplace policy to environmental protection (our main focus at [...]

Posted Under: CA Healthcare E: Excellent Childcare H: Environmental Health H: Health Care For All Kids M: Maternity & Paternity Leave R: Realistic & Fair Wages S: Sick Days, Paid T: TV & After-School Programs

Luck should have nothing to do with it!

Posted February 6th, 2012 by Ruth Martin

While I’m at work writing to you, my husband is home taking care of our four-month-old daughter. After my three months of paid leave were up, he started his three months of paid family leave to stay home and care for our second baby like he did with our first. I know, right? We’re both lucky to work [...]

Posted Under: M: Maternity & Paternity Leave