Question about maternity leave (page 2)

katiekitten

Mrs Jones

expressing at work must have been really hard work. I admire you. I think I would really struggle to do that.

I was raised in the US to make choices.

Its nice that a man realises how important it might be to a woman to have the choice to spend the first crucial 6 months with her baby, and be able to breastfeed if she chooses. I just coundnt imagine how hard it must be to be forced to go back to work because of finances soon after baby is born. My baby is 6 weeks old and is feeding every 2 hours through the night. There is no way I could do my job ontop of that. Im totally exhausted every morning, but by breastfeeding I am saving my country money, as my baby will be less likely to have alergies and illnesses and more likely to have a higher IQ.

I dont think it is socialist to look after mums and babies - after all population is needed to fill jobs and pay for pensions. It is in a countries economic interests to encourage population creation, and who is going to want to do that if it involves long term personal financial hardship. The country benefits but at the same time says 'hey if you want a family its your lookout, you pay for it'.

katiekitten

If you work for a company with over 100 employees and you have been on the job for over a year, you could get up to 6 weeks off without being fired.

OH MY GOD - 6 weeks? Is that all? 6 weeks is nothing, and mothers are expected to leave their little ones and go back to work so soon? Thats so sad. Babies cant even hold their own heads at 6 weeks, they have been inside their mothers for 9 months and within 6 weeks they are expected to go without their mums all day? My god, poor little things - and poor mums who must still be reeling from giving birth.

Thats a terrible system. Im so lucky. I can take a year off, but about 6 months of it would be unpaid, so I will take 7 months off. At least I will have been able to wean my baby before I go back to work, and will feel like he is more able to cope with being without me, and me without him.

worldtraveller

Socialist health care in the US-no- but what does that have to do with raising up children in a healthy environment?. We here have an excellent support base, and our economy is in good shape. No country wide bankruptcy here. Our health care may not be perfect , but it is affordable. You go and enjoy yours if you can afford it, and please just stick with the issue on this thread.

hillbilly

KK..congrats on the new baby. It's a blessing that you are getting the help you need to do a good thing.

The industrial US is still working under the Victorian era model. The government and most captains of industry think "Rosie the Riveter" was an anomaly and are in denial that women (who still bear 100% of the babies) are spread across all facets of the modern workplace.

I may sound like a cave man...but I am a union member. WE lobbied hard fro FMLA and it still came up short for what it could do for all working people.

~Hill

hillbilly

AHHH..someone has to PAY for the services. KK asked what we have in the states... sorry that the UK and you folks north of us have socialists health care programs.

Here in the states the folks that get the most help are those who do little for thereselfs. At least in the UK and Canada TAXPAYERS get a bit of the bite back in services. In the US having a job is held against you if you need a little help now and then.

~Hill

reneeisorym

I have to pay a disability insurance company to get any paid maternity leave. I have 6 weeks to take off and not worry about being fired. I would get 66% of my pay for just that 6 weeks.

I have 10 days vacation time per year at my job assuming I didn't have to take any time prior to that for doctor's visits. (I have 5 sick days too) I wouldn't get any pay if I didn't sign up for disability insurance that costs me $10 a month and is tax free.

katiekitten

I may sound like a cave man...but I am a union member

Well I truly believe in unionisation. Its one of the reasons I chose teaching as a profession - theres no stigma to joining a union and teaching unions are strong in the UK.

I do know of industries that actively discourage unions, and I know of some places that have closed and opened miles away with different staff rather than let their employees unionise - MacDonalds have done this in the US.

there are four lights

Are you really going to wean your baby before going back to work? Here we are encouraged to breastfeed until one year old, because research has shown that breastfeeding for AT LEAST one year gives your baby the best health benefits possible. The health benefits don't go away after only one year either, that is the minimum amount one should try for. My son is two and half and still breastfeeds, and he is never sick, has never had an ear infection, has never been to the doctor aside from a well baby visit, so it really is very good for their health. But 6 months is to young to wean! Here in the US we are lacking in the area of maternity leave. However, most breastfeeding women pump at work, it is no big deal here, and some are able to maintain a breastfeeding relationship with their child for longer than six months, and many make it close to or beyond one year. the problem is that as you pointed out many younger babies feed every two to three hours, but of course a women usually does not pump that often, which causes her milk supply to go down faster and she is unable to keep up with her babies needs and therefore ends up supplementing with formula at only about two or three months old. However, even if you never pump at work, but exclusively breastfeed at home, you can still keep up a supply to continue breastfeeding to one year. It will also help you reconnect with your baby emotionally after you being gone all day. Please don't quit breastfeeding just because you can no longer do it exclusively! And I agree that our health care system is severely lacking here. The whole maternity care system is based on litigation and not the actual evidence based studies that point to the most healthy course of action for mothers and babies. The maternity leave issue is another area that lacks, and breastfeeding is not valued or appreciated by many in this country. I think Norway has the best system, they get a full year of maternity leave, and over 90% of women there breastfeed for an entire year which saves there county tons of money in health care for those babies, and breastfeeding in public is totally accepted there.

VoidEater

I'd like to see the US become a bit more isolationist

I get concerned that isolationist policies provide a "divide and conquer" strategy that serves the few at the top at the expense of the general population at the bottom. I would think being more integrated into the rest of the world with it's successes (like single payer health care, strong union benefits, social tolerance on various fronts) might give us ideas for improvement here in the US. I also think some trade agreements have been mismanaged, so I'm not advocating a sudden open door that provides killing drafts.

I, too, have generally made out alright, though I currently live in a State that has a popluation that is (to me) somewhat socially stunted and painfully superficial. Having made out alright, I would like to see more people included in the benefits of a prosperous society (if you want to call if "socialized" medical care, I suppose that's ok - though I suspect the label is meant as a kind of attack) like easy access to health care and secure retirement.

I see too many people around me with what seems to be the attitude that, "No one ever gave me a nice world to live in, so no one deserves a nice world to live in" - or at least, "I did it all on my own, so no should get any benefits that I didn't get". I prefer a viewpoint that asks that things get better, rather than be limited to what I had available.

With fewer financial resources available, the US does some pretty questionable things with its public dollars - insisting on programs that don't work (abstinence-only sex education, for example) and, as hillbilly alluded to, trying to force feed our idealogies far from home.

What kind of society might we have if we went into debt, not for a war, but for health care for all? I've never understood why health care should be connected with business, as opposed to being more connected with public policy (government).

mrsjones5

When I was working (for Levi's) I had 2 of my children, I was able to take 6 weeks maternity leave before my due dates and 6 weeks after the children were born. My company paid me 66% of my salary and the state (California) paid the other 33% under disability/maternity leave. It's not like that with every company or state and you're lucky to get it if you can.
That's it? Good lord----here in Canada you can take up to a year off for Mat Leave. Where I work, you get I think 80% of your pay and then Employment Insurance tops it up so you get 100% of your pay. I can't believe the States doesn't have something like this in place!

Yep that was it. But I don't look back in horror at the lack of time I had with my first 2 kids, I did what I had to do. I was fortunate that I was able to get that paid time off, a little longer with my daughter cuz I was on bed rest for 3 months during my first and second trimester and was able to take the six weeks before her birth and the six weeks after, in total 6 months off.

I pumped milk at work and nurse exclusively when I got home. I nursed my oldest son for over 2 years and my daughter for 6 months (not for lack of trying, she just wasn't interested but I still pumped at work).

I wish the US did have something similar to what Canada but until then we have to work with what we have.

Josie

Question about maternity leave

Share this