Our team member Tanya has been blogging about all types of\u00a0pregnancy questions\u00a0that she has been facing during the first months of her current pregnancy. We get to follow her during her journey while she shares advice, concerns and experiences that many soon to be mothers could benefit from reading.<\/p>\n
In her post about\u00a0being 5 months pregnant\u00a0she wrote about her research regarding different infant diseases and what to eat while being pregnant. This time Tanya finds out how the maternity leave works in different countries.<\/p>\n
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6 Months in and I am so ready for this to be done with!!!
\nI am starting to get round and heavy and really uncomfortable, although I keep reminding myself of the prize\u2026 my little girl.<\/p>\n
This month I have been preparing for my maternity leave.
\nI have spoken to HR and they have informed me that Spanish law provides 16 weeks paid leave, 14 working days paid Nursing leave and the possibility of taking up to 3 years off without pay and maintaining your employment. Tack on the month of vacation that most of us receive yearly, and we are talking about over 5 months of paid leave.
\nI decided to research the rest of the world to see how other mothers in my position right now are preparing and I have come across some\u00a0SHOCKING\u00a0numbers. Since I am from the good ole USA, this is the first country I researched and it is APPALING to me that such a global country, such a powerful leader in today\u2019s economy, trends, music, film, fashion, technology\u2026 can be so BACKWARDS when it comes to their new mothers.
\nThe United Sates of America is the\u00a0ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD\u00a0with\u00a00 PAID LEAVE.<\/p>\n
As I write this the law stands at;
\nUSA \u2013 paid leave: 0 Weeks
\nUnpaid leave: Up to 12 weeks but only if your employer is covered under FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act 1993)
\nExceptions: California 6 wks at 55% pay. New Jersey 6 weeks at 66% pay. Washington 5 wks at $250 per week. Hawaii 6 wks at 58% pay and New York 6 wks at 50% pay.
\nThis is up to the employer, not the mother. And the employer is not required to hold the mother\u2019s position after 12 weeks.<\/p>\n
I am appalled; I don\u2019t understand how nothing is being done about this. How politicians can close their eyes to this HUGE PROBLEM. Animals spend more time with their young than most American woman do. How can this be? Besides being the only country in the world to not offer paid leave, we also allow ONLY up to 12 weeks of UNPAID leave (where some European countries allow up to 4 years) which is not doable for some families who depend on that income. As a single mother I can assure you that there is no way I would be able to take 3 months of no pay.
\nHere are some leaves available throughout the world. I am only listing the paid time off (all are 100% pay unless otherwise indicated), as many allow unpaid leave as well, with some countries allowing upwards of 4 years.
\nEUROPE
\nSweden: 64 weeks paid leave (1,5 year) for both parents. You can split it in between mother and father)
\nNorway: 56 weeks paid leave
\nUK: 39 weeks (legislature has a bill to raise to 52 weeks in process) paid leave
\nEstonia: 18 weeks
\nAFRICA
\nAlgeria: 14 weeks paid leave
\nCongo: 15 weeks paid leave
\nKenya: 2 months paid leave<\/p>\n
AMERICAS
\nCanada: 50 weeks at 55% pay
\nChile: 18 weeks
\nMexico: 12 weeks
\nPanama: 14 weeks
\nASIA
\nAfghanistan: 90 days
\nChina: 90 days
\nIndia: 12 weeks
\nVietnam: 4-6 months<\/p>\n
I find it really sad and depressing that mothers living in the US do not have the same privileges as their sisters overseas. I feel very fortunate to receive the time off that I am getting and appreciate every moment that I will be able to spend with my daughter after she is born, without the burden of worrying about my job security and my paycheck. I will be taking additional time off (unpaid) so that I can spend the summer with her, and all told will be out for 7 months. This will be the longest period of time I have been out of work in over a decade, and I am quite ready! Next month we will tackle some old wives tales that have had me shaking my head and wondering how gullible we really are lol! 9 months of research and I am really ready to toss it out the window!!<\/p>\n
__________________________________<\/p>\n
Related courses:
\nNursery programs
\nParent coaching classes
\nFirst aid courses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our team member Tanya has been blogging about all types of\u00a0pregnancy questions\u00a0that she has been facing during the first months of her current pregnancy. We get to follow her during her journey while she shares advice, concerns and experiences that many soon to be mothers could benefit from reading. In her post about\u00a0being 5 months […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[2,12,79,133,134],"class_list":["post-5004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-english","tag-pregnancy-education","tag-pregnancy-questions","tag-being-pregnant","tag-maternity-leave"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n