https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 08 May 2026 04:31:19 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782858 Sat, 26 Jul 2014 10:16:36 +0000 fussygal 1782858@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oregon</p> <p>1. I had 16 weeks of maternity leave (eight weeks on short-term disability, and the other a paid out by my employer). That's much more than is the norm in my state, but I have a great employer. I would of course love to have something closer to a year, but I feel like for my peers and the US in general, 16 weeks is pretty good.</p> <p>2. Think it would make me a better employee because i would have more confidence putting her in someone else's care when she's a bit older. That would make me less anxious at work. Granted I haven't gone back to work yet so I'm not sure how those feelings really translate yet!</p> <p>3. Yes, I feel like those who make a lower wage have less maternity time because they have less benefits.</p> <p>4. I'd love to see a year of maternity leave be the norm. I think that our country has yet to realize the importance of maternity and paternity leave, and I hope that both gain the attention they deserve in the future. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782736 Sat, 26 Jul 2014 07:47:29 +0000 swedishfish 1782736@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Purpledaisy: sure. I am allowed to take up to two school years off (unpaid) per child and my job will be protected. I may be placed in another building but I will have a job. But we simply cannot afford for me to take unpaid time off and many others in my area cannot afford that either. Long Island is an extremely expensive area to live in. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782686 Sat, 26 Jul 2014 04:49:36 +0000 Kemma 1782686@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm in NZ so probably not your target audience but I wanted to respond anyway just to offer another (and external) perspective.</p> <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why? </p> <p>NZ parental leave includes fourteen (soon to be sixteen) weeks of paid leave funded by the Government (approx. $500 gross per week) and a further 38 weeks of unpaid leave that can be taken by either parent (providing the mother has completed twelve months of service). Parental leave automatically ends at either 52 weeks or when the child turns one. Employers are legally required to hold the parent's position until the cessation of the leave unless it is considered specialist. </p> <p>I personally took the full year of leave, plus five weeks of accrued annual leave prior to baby arriving and although I chose not to return to work, I felt like this was definitely a fair chunk of leave and I could have returned to work at around six months if I absolutely had to..</p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee? </p> <p>This is not so applicable to my particular experience but there was no way I would've have been able to return to work prior to around six months post partum. I worked in payroll and any potential mistakes that I might've made could have negatively affected a lot of people! My gut also tells me that the earlier babies go into care then the more likely they are to get sick and therefore the requirement for sick days increases.</p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?</p> <p>Unfortunately children of low wage workers are probably at higher risk due to many other factors related to socio-economic status so current US laws probably put them at an even bigger disadvantage - particular if families struggle to afford quality childcare.</p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime? </p> <p>I think it's absolutely cruel that mothers / families are expected to put newborn babies into care at such a young age and then function as though nothing has changed. I don't necessarily believe that employers or the government should be funding a full year or even six months of paid leave, but safeguarding a woman's employment for a reasonable period of time would definitely provide families with a greater range of options. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782667 Sat, 26 Jul 2014 01:40:54 +0000 PurplePeony 1782667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm in WA state.</p> <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why?</p> <p>WA law is more generous than FMLA and allows for 16 weeks, but because I work for the federal government, I'm not covered by the state law. I went back to work a couple days before LO turned 13 weeks, but I had worked up to the day I went into labor (I didn't realize she was going to come a couple weeks early!). I was actually ready to go back to work at that point, but not full-time. I wish I could have worked part-time for a couple months. Even so, I wish I had more choice in the matter of when to go back and how much I was going to work when I did -- if DD had been a more difficult baby it would have been REALLY hard instead of just pretty darn hard. </p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee?</p> <p>I wish I'd had the option to decide when it felt right for me to go back, rather than being on someone else's timeline. It was really stressful to leave a baby that young at daycare, and I know that I was really sleep-deprived and distracted for quite awhile after I started back to work. I was not mentally sharp and I know I made some dumb mistakes during that time. I was okay to focus for a couple hours a day, but more like 3-4, not 8.</p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?</p> <p>Absolutely. The majority of employers don't offer paid maternity leave, so even if you're covered by FMLA, your leave is self-funded. I was fortunate that I was able to accrue enough sick leave and vacation time to pay for most of my leave, but most low-wage workers don't have generous leave allowances. So not only are they burning up whatever little sick and vacation time they might get (if any), they are forced to take much shorter leaves than they might want or be entitled to because they can't afford to stay out longer. And then, if/when their child gets sick, they don't have an leave left to cover their time spent caring for the child. I think this is an issue for people in various income brackets, but where it might be an inconvenience for higher-income workers, it's a dire situation for people who are barely scraping by as it is.</p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime?</p> <p>I'd like it to be at least partially paid and for the amount of time a person is allowed to take off to be extended to 6 months (I think people with chronic illnesses, elder care issues or sick spouses should have more than 12 weeks, too). It doesn't mean people HAVE to take that much time if they don't feel like they need it, but it would be great to have the option available. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782638 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 23:57:54 +0000 Sapphiresun 1782638@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm in Canada, but for interest's sake I'll answer. I'm in BC.</p> <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why?<br /> My maternity leave was two of my weeks of vacation prior to giving birth and then one year partially paid, with the option to take a second year off with no pay, or to return to the company for a year as a "duty to accommodate" that you can essentially work as much or as little as you like, but guaranteed to return to a position of "equal pay and responsibility" at the end of two years. I'm returning to work next week after one year and I think I'm satisfied with the length of time. HOWEVER, up until two years ago we had as part of our benefits that our employer topped up the 55% of your pay up to $485/week that I receive from employment insurance (EI) to a full 90% of whatever our salary is, so I wish that would have still been in effect. I'm not sure that even with the option to have the full year with partial pay that many people can make it work on half their salary, so many don't take the full year. I think our plan is for me to take two years next time, which should prevent us from having two kids in day care as LO#1 will be in kindergarten when I return.</p> <p>That said, in the 10 years I worked, I've paid a fair bit of money into EI and so has DH. We're emergency services workers, so never likely to be relieved of our duties in any fashion that would allow us to collect EI. I think we've paid into that fund far more than I collected this year, so I wonder if a a self funded savings account would have been better for us than the socialist approach we have now??</p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee?<br /> If I'd had to return to work after 12 weeks I simply would have quit, so I guess if no employee is a worse employee... haha. Even if I didn't quit it's hard to say what would have happened. There are very few day care spaces of infants in the first place, so even if I'd been willing to go back, not sure I could have found care for her.</p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?</p> <p>We get paid at 55% provided you worked prior to maternity leave, so half of less is less, obviously.</p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime?<br /> The US structure for most things is very much into personal responsibility and seems to think anything resembling a socialist policy is a bad thing, so while I don't really expect there to be funding for pretty much the reasons I stated above in regards to the amount we paid to EI to far exceed what we received, I think an extended period of at least having to hold your position would be beneficial.</p> <p>I really don't see what the big deal would be to hold positions for people longer for companies if they didn't have to pay them. In Canada, backfilling for someone who's on a maternity leave is something almost every person I know has done, and it can be a great way to cross train employees and give people a foot in the door or a shot at a higher position, to be able to just try it out for a year. In my case, my leave caused a domino effect of 7 people being "promoted" for the year, which I think is great. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782637 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 23:51:14 +0000 sunny 1782637@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>WA state</p> <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why?</p> <p>I was able to take 20 weeks. I started my leave the day of my C-section (I unexpectedly had a complication). Part of it was paid, part unpaid. In my ideal world, I would have gotten 1 year. I ended up quitting my job after a 2 months back at work because I was so unhappy. Looking back, if I had mat leave until 9 months, I probably wouldn't have quit my job.</p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee?</p> <p>If I had gotten 9 months of leave, I would have come back and not bothered to take pumping breaks or I would have only taken 1 at lunch. Because I went back at 21 weeks, I took 3 pumping breaks which cut into my productivity. I was also still very sleep deprived and constantly worried about my LO and if she was getting enough food.</p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?</p> <p>Yes. They don't get as long of a leave and it is probably unpaid, they may not get pumping breaks/proper place to pump. Based on their financial situation, they may feel that they need to return to work when their PTO is up, when they would prefer to be at home with baby. </p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime?</p> <p>I would love to see a Canadian style maternity leave. The leave is funded by unemployment insurance. Employers can choose to fund an additional amount (e.g. UI provides $500/week, the employer provides 80% of salary minus UI benefits). I would also love to see job protection for a minimum of 6 months rather than 12 weeks. 9 or 12 months would be even better! Or some sort of combination of 52 weeks of leave split between 2 parents. I would also love to see parents actually taking the entire leave they are entitled to, without it being a financial hardship to their families. </p> <p>I know you didn't ask this, but I also would like to extend the dependent care credit to take into account # of children! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782631 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 23:48:12 +0000 Purpledaisy 1782631@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Seattlemom: Thanks, I have been keeping up with that series! When I read about the prenatal care and maternity leave in Germany I couldn't believe it. I'm ready to pack up and move there for eventual baby#2 :silly: (only kind of kidding) It sounds like SUCH a different experience than most women have here in the US. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782627 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 23:41:23 +0000 Purpledaisy 1782627@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thank you so much everyone! </p> <p>@locavore_mama: haha thanks! I *guess* sometimes work has to come before HB :silly: </p> <p>@MamaBehr: I do not blame you for quitting. I also had a c section and ended up getting 9.5 weeks off afterwards. Definitely NOT enough time. I really wanted to quit but it was really not a reasonable choice for us. </p> <p>@swedishfish: Just curious, do you think that women should be allowed to take additional time off beyond the paid 12 weeks?( and still have their job protected)</p> <p>@Adira: I agree about the stressing, worrying and pumping that is involved with going back to work so soon. Especially pumping, it's like right when you have breastfeeding down then it's time to start worrying about pumping!</p> <p>@yoursilverlining: I can see your point on it being harder to go back the longer that you're off. And I agree that the result of unpaid maternity leave equals more parents that end up quitting their job and getting on welfare and public assistance programs. Of course there is always people that are going to abuse the system, but a lot of these woman want to work but its is more economical for them not to. </p> <p>I didn't even think about longer leave for parents of babies in the NICU or with special needs. Thank you for pointing that out. No parent should be forced to go back to work so early when their baby needs extra care. </p> <p>@pinkb: I also work opposite shifts with my husband. It was hard in the beginning before she was on a better schedule when she would be up practically until I got home and my husband would end up getting only a couple of hours a sleep. </p> <p>I really like "Every mother deserves to be their with their LO those first couple months." It is SO true. Having to go back at 4 weeks is just not right. </p> <p>@avivoca: Having to go back at 2 weeks PP is just cruel! For mother and baby. I cannot even imagine. I am sure that this happens more often that we would like to think. </p> <p>@Mae: I agree with having a year leave like Canada. But even like you said, having 16 weeks instead of 12 weeks seems more doable. When they're so little like that 4 weeks makes such a big difference. </p> <p>@Corduroy: I am also in California and I had a hard time navigating through what steps to take and what I was eligible for. My daughter is 17 months and I am still wondering if I could have taken more time off. It is confusing and so many people don't know what they're entitled to. </p> <p>@grizz: Hobby Lobby just keeps losing more and more points in my book. There is no excuse for a company not to support breastfeeding moms. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff happens a lot with lower wage jobs. I actually felt very lucky that my job was as supportive as they were(I work a lower wage job) I don't know if I would have been successful in continuing to pump/bf if my boss hadn't been so cool about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782618 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 23:20:26 +0000 lady grey 1782618@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thought you might like to read this post from Cup of Jo, the mom talks about the amazing prenatal care and maternity leave she got:<br /> <a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2014/07/20-surprising-things-about-parenting-in.html" rel="nofollow">http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2014/07/20-surprising-things-about-parenting-in.html</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782566 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 21:36:56 +0000 Boheme 1782566@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Tennessee</p> <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why?</p> <p>I got 16 weeks. I worked through the first day of my labor, then I had to go back to work during the 4 month sleep regression. I absolutely needed more time. I was a wreck. </p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee?</p> <p>I was an emotional wreck leaving a 16 week old baby, not to mention I was completely exhausted. Breastfeeding had just barely gotten to the point where it wasn't difficult. I was super resentful about being back when my baby was so tiny still.</p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?</p> <p>Low wage workers have to go back even earlier most of the time, and often low paying jobs are also unfriendly to adequate areas and times for pumping, affecting breastfeeding rates, which in turn inflates the amount of funding WIC offers for formula. I believe every woman deserves a fair shake at breastfeeding her baby if that's what she desires to do. My favorite clerk at Hobby Lobby told me she wouldn't be able to continue breastfeeding after coming back from mat leave because they don't have a space for her to pump, nor will they offer her consistent times. I'm going off on a tangent, but after the ruckus about birth control they raised, this INFURIATES me. It is a woman's right to feed her baby as she sees fit!!!</p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime? </p> <p>More time off. More partially paid or fully paid salaries. More support for breastfeeding moms when they come back to work. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782559 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 21:26:16 +0000 Corduroy 1782559@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>California</p> <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why? </p> <p>20 weeks total, 3 prior to delivery. I thought it was a good amount of time. I couldn't imagine going back at or before 12 weeks. LO had colic at that point. Since I went back at 4 months we were able to sleep train prior to my return (not recommended by anyone prior to 4 months that I know of - and just for bedtime, not through the night). Also LO wouldn't take the bottle when I went back. She didn't eat for two days at daycare. I couldn't do that to a baby younger than 4 months. Looking back I can't believe the doctor told me to do it. Argh - I sound like the worst mom ever. If I stayed home longer than 6 months I would have probably started questioning my decision.</p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee? </p> <p>Sleep - my god the sleep. I was a zombie the first few months back. I also wouldn't have spent so much time pumping.</p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?</p> <p>Yes. Assuming they don't have a whole lot of savings banked they need to go back sooner to contribute to their family's income. I took the max leave allowed but if we were living pay check to paycheck I would have had to return earlier. I think all moms deserve to stay to home for the first few months.</p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime? </p> <p>I would like so see communication about maternity leave laws improved NOW. California extends rights to workers that most don't even know about. I got different information from my doctor, my HR, my company handbook, my friend an HR director, and CA law. I was so confused I almost hired a maternity leave consultant (that shouldn't even be a thing). I regret not doing it because I missed out on some stuff. Plus while I was on leave HR called me to tell me my agreed upon (and legal) leave was not approved. Major stress I didn't need. </p> <p>Also my co-workers gave me a hard time for taking more than my allotted time because they didn't understand that I took what I was entitled to. Most people can't afford to take the time they are allowed so very few people know it exists.</p> <p>Of course I'll say full pay on maternity leave and longer maternity leave too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782515 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 20:39:49 +0000 Mae 1782515@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ohio</p> <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why?</p> <p>Well I ended up losing my job a few days before I gave birth, but I was supposed to have 12 weeks. I'm 10 weeks out now (almost 11) and I sort of can't imagine going back in a week. It seems crazy to me when LO is still changing so much every day and still needs so much attention with regards to her eating. I'm not sure I'd trust a daycare worker to get food into her because she can really fight the bottle. </p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee?</p> <p>I think that if I went back to work in a week I would be really stressed out, sleep deprived, and sort of resentful that I had to be back so soon. If I had longer (even 16 weeks seems more reasonable to me than 12) I think I'd feel more ready to focus on something other than LO, and I'd also be grateful that my company valued work/life balance which would make me more loyal. </p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?<br /> Yes because low wage workers probably have little or no paid time off, and they are also the ones who can least afford to take unpaid time off. </p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime?</p> <p>I think the US should have a maternity leave system like canada. Paid leave for everyone and up to a year off would be unbelievably awesome. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782511 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 20:32:22 +0000 avivoca 1782511@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I live in Kentucky.</p> <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why?</p> <p>My maternity leave was 12 weeks. I was satisfied in that I was able to take that long (I am not covered by FMLA), but ideally I would have taken more time off from work. My LO was born in the fall, so when I went back to work it was the height of cold/flu season. It would have been nice to wait a bit longer before putting her in day care.</p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee?</p> <p>Being able to take a longer maternity leave would definitely have made me a better employee. Like I said before, LO started daycare in the middle of cold and flu season. I spent two weeks out of work because she was sick and then I got very ill (sinus infection, mastitis, and eye infection). I also would have generally been more well-rested and ready to focus on work. It's only been in the last month or two that I've been able to focus on my work instead of constantly worrying about LO.</p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?</p> <p>The current laws definitely affect low wage workers negatively. Minimum wage is already too low to really live on. I know one woman who went back to work (at a daycare) after two weeks because she couldn't afford to stay home longer.</p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime?</p> <p>I would really like to see the US offer paid maternity leave to all workers for at least twelve weeks, and then offer another 12 weeks off unpaid. Ideally, you would be able to alternate the 12 weeks paid with the 12 unpaid so that you could stretch your dollars out over the maternity period. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782480 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 20:09:51 +0000 pinkb 1782480@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why? I ended up taking 11 weeks. 3 weeks on bedrest before LO arrived and 8 weeks after. It was FMLA leave. I was ok with the amount of time but it would have been better if it would have been actual mat leave covered by my employer since it is a large corporation. I think a few more weeks would have helped a bit to get LO into a better routine/ grown out of the witching hour faze. </p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee? Well I work opposite shifts from my DH so that we dont need childcare. There were many nights those first few months back that I had to leave to help him, take calls, etc. My boss was SUPER understanding and didnt mind one bit but I think that is very hard to come by. I would have been more rested and more present (mind and body) had I had a few more weeks off.</p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so? Yes. I dont make much more than min wage and there is no way we could afford more than 8 weeks with mat leave not being mandatory and paid. ( I had minimal help with STD) I have known moms to go back after 4 weeks because they have to for $, its just not right. Every mother deserves to be their with their LO those first couple months. I think babies in low income family sometimes suffer because they have to start daycare earlier and this causes more illnesses causing more cost for the families or government if they get assistance.</p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime? I think at least 8 weeks should be employer paid, ideally I would like to see 16.</p> <p>ETA I live in Florida </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782443 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:47:56 +0000 yoursilverlining 1782443@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>1. I had a couple (2) weeks before LO was born and 13 weeks after. It was a fine amount of time; I was fine with going back to work at 13 weeks and didn't feel like I wanted a longer amount. If I had more paid time, I would have also been fine with that - but I wasn't upset about going back to work when I did. Honestly, I need more mental stimulation than taking care of an infant provides, so I was happy to get back to working.</p> <p>2. I don't think it would have made me a better employee - maybe the opposite. For me personally, LO's get really fun around 9 months. If I had a year long leave, it would have been much harder to go back to work than it was to go back at 13 weeks, which would have made me a more distracted and less engaged employee.</p> <p>3. YES. In 75 font YES. lol. Of course they do; we have no paid leave at all in the US. You want pay, you have to either have an employer who pays for it ("it" being short term disability insurance) - which employers are not doing for low income employees en masse, or *you* pay for it, which low income earners more often than not won't pay for / can't pay for. Which ends up with many lower income earners becoming SAHM/P utilizing services (food stamps, medicaid, TANF) which costs everyone more in the long run than a paid maternity leave would.</p> <p>4. I would like to see at least 6 weeks paid; ideally 12. Even at 75% pay; I think that would be more doable for even low income earners. I'd also like to see expanded FMLA leave for children with special needs (NICU, etc.) that need parents to be able to leave work for more than 12 weeks with job protection. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782434 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:41:25 +0000 Adira 1782434@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p><b>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why?</b></p> <p>I had 12 weeks (FMLA). I was not satisfied with the amount of time I had and I wish I had been able to stay home with my son longer. I think it's REALLY hard to leave a 12 week old with strangers and it really affected my last weeks with him and my weeks returning to work.</p> <p><b>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee?</b></p> <p>I think if I had been able to take a longer maternity leave, I wouldn't have spent sooooooooo much of my time after returning to work WORRYING about my son. It's so difficult to leave a little infant who can't even hold their head up with a bunch of strangers. Plus I think returning to work so soon makes it a lot harder for women to continue breastfeeding if they want to. They have to spend so much of their leave pumping just in preparation of returning to work and it just makes both their leave and their return to work super stressful.</p> <p><b>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?</b></p> <p>I definitely this the current law negatively affects low wage workers. FMLA only applies to companies that have 50+ employees, and it's an unpaid leave. Some families simply can't afford to have someone go unpaid for so long, so many probably have to return before they want to and affects their bonding with their child.</p> <p><b>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime? </b></p> <p>I would love the maternity leave to be expanded to twice as long (24 weeks). And if SOME of it could be paid (12 weeks maybe) at even just a percentage of pay, that would be AMAZING. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782426 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:34:15 +0000 swedishfish 1782426@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I live in New York.</p> <p>1. My maternity leave was 10 weeks. I am a teacher so I took the last week of school off using sick days. The rest of my maternity leave was summer vacation. I would've liked two more weeks home but didn't want to miss the beginning of the school year. I could have used sick days if I wanted to.</p> <p>2. Taking a slightly longer maternity leave would've made me a better employee because I would've been better rested. There were mornings I had a venti Starbucks frappuccino and I still almost fell asleep.</p> <p>3. I'm sure the current maternity laws affect low wage workers more so than higher earners. Many don't have a choice but to go back to work quickly after giving birth. They can't afford to take the time off since it's most likely unpaid.</p> <p>4. I would like to see a paid 12 week maternity leave in the United States in my lifetime. I think that's a fair amount of time off. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782425 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:30:55 +0000 MamaBehr 1782425@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm going to answer this about my second pregnancy. :)<br /> 1. My maternity leave was only going to be 8 weeks, due to a c-section. It wasn't long enough, so I quit! I wanted 12 weeks, because I was a teacher and that would have put me at the end of the school year so I wouldn't have to go back that school year. Since it was only 8 weeks, I quit (though there were a few other issues, this was the major one).<br /> 2. Longer maternity leave means older baby I'm daycare which means stronger immune system. The older the baby the less needy. That means I would have been able to be more dedicated.<br /> 3. Daycare is expensive, I have chosen not to go back to work full time (even though I'm itching to go back) because te amount of money I would make is tiny., so if I was only making minimum wage I sure wouldn't go back to work.<br /> 4. I would love for maternity leave to be extended to a year long or govt subsided nannies for families (not daycare). Won't happen, but would be nice! Maybe even paternity leave that is across the board :)<br /> Does that help? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782424 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:30:37 +0000 regberadaisy 1782424@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Purpledaisy: LOL I saw it earlier but didn't have time to respond. I'll try to wall you tonight or tomorrow night! Gotta put some work hours in first. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782413 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:18:22 +0000 Purpledaisy 1782413@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>*crickets* :shocked: :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-mind-giving-their-opinion-on-a-couple-of-maternity-leave-topics#post-1782307 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 17:03:45 +0000 Purpledaisy 1782307@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hello everyone! I am doing a research paper for my writing class. My topic is about why maternity leave in the United States should be extended. I am just looking for some thoughts and opinions if anyone has time to answer a couple of questions. </p> <p>Please include what state you live in. </p> <p>1. How long was your maternity leave and were you satisfied with the amount of leave that you received? Would you rather have had more (or less) time? Why? </p> <p>2. How do you think that being able to take a longer maternity leave would have made you a better employee? </p> <p>3. Do you think that current maternity leave laws affect low wage workers negatively? How so?</p> <p>4. How would you like to see maternity leave in the United States change in your lifetime? </p> <p>Thanks in advanced :grin: </p>