In the US, paid parental leave is considered a benefit provided by employers. The US is actually the only developed country that doesn’t guarantee paid maternity or parental leave to workers. And that’s odd, because the evidence is very clear: Paid parental leave can have a significant positive effect on the health of children and mothers. For example, paid parental leave can reduce infant mortality by as much as 10%. Also, women who took longer than 12 weeks maternity leave reported fewer depressive symptoms, a reduction in severe depression and an improvement in their overall mental health. In addition, it is known that fathers who take paternity leave of 10 days or longer are more involved with their children and with child care activities than men who take no leave. So it makes a lot of sense for politicians to support more extensive paid parental leave laws, in the US, as well as in any other country.
Paid parental leave has significant positive effect on health children and mothers
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