Woman Shows Difficulty Of Being Working Mom In America

Bringing home a new baby is tough enough, but the current United States parental leave policy can make things even more difficult. The US only guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave via Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) — with restrictions about the company’s size and the employee’s tenure — leaving new parents to determine if they can afford extra time with their newborn or to recover after birth.

According to a 2019 Pew Research Center report, “the US is the only country among 41 nations that does not mandate any paid leave for new parents.” They also noted that “the share of moms who are working either full or part time in the United States has increased over the past half-century from 51% to 72%, and almost half of two-parent families now include two full-time working parents.”

The National Institute for Health reports that on average, new moms go back to work after 10 weeks, and that longer leave is “seen primarily among economically advantaged groups, such as college educated, married parents who can afford to take unpaid leave.”

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