Ludicrous

A lot of American moms go back to work about now, the six week mark. This is the point where Julie stops getting paid to be on maternity leave. She negotiated a longer leave, but for the next ten weeks, she won't see a paycheck. It's not her employer's fault; it's standard in the United States.

Or is it? I thought six weeks paid leave was required until I did a little research. According to an organization called Moms Rising, we're one of four countries that do not ensure a paid maternity leave. We're in the proud company of Swaziland, Papua New Guinea, and Lesotho.

Are you a little bit horrified? In the United States of America, working women are not entitled to paid maternity leave. We are tied with three third-world countries for the worst maternity leave in the world.

In Pakistan, you would get 12 weeks paid. In Afghanistan, 90 days. Same in Ethiopia. You would get 18 weeks paid in Cuba, 14 in Panama, and 12 in Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. In Norway, a mother gets 18 weeks paid, and then 26 additional paid weeks to be divided between the mother and father. Now, I'm not saying we should suddenly become Norway, but couldn't we at least rise to the level of Bangladesh? Care to compare other nations with ours? Click here.

The Family Medical Leave Act does guarantee a person 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for an infant. That's wonderful if you have a savings account; Julie and I are lucky to be able to take unpaid leaves. I cannot imagine putting our six-week-old in daycare, but I have nothing but respect for mothers who don't have a choice.