She would have given up on breastfeeding
Posted August 6th, 2009 by Katie BethellI was amazed when a friend of mine told me that it took about a month for her and her first baby to figure out how to breastfeed. (Doesn’t breastfeeding just…happen?) But she explained to me that it is actually a skill that moms and babies have to figure out. My friend was dedicated to breastfeeding exclusively for the 6 months recommended by doctors, but she shared with me that, “If I hadn’t had time off work, I probably would have given up.”
Today 51% of new mothers have no paid leave of any kind, yet the majority of mothers with infants are in the labor force. This means that many moms don’t have a realistic choice to breastfeed. Supporting breastfeeding and instituting comprehensive Paid Family Leave policies go hand in hand.
Sign the petition today! We need Paid Family Leave to make sure moms can have the option to breastfeed and to ensure healthier families and babies!
Our leaders need to hear from us now that Paid Family Leave and breastfeeding are critical components of families’ well-being, economic security, and health. With your signature, we’ll make sure every member of Congress knows how many people care about family leave and its impact on breastfeeding. And, we’ll also deliver your signatures and comments directly, in person, to key Congressional leaders who have the power to move Paid Family Leave policy forward. Together, we can make sure they keep the health of children and families front and center in all that they do.
Why do we need paid family leave to support breastfeeding?
A number of studies have shown that maternity leave has a positive impact on how long women breastfeed.[1] This is important because major medical authorities recommend that infants be exclusively breastfed for their first six months because of significant health benefits for both mother and child. But the U.S. is one of only four countries in the world without national paid family leave policies, an omission that sets up our families for failure. Despite the government’s Healthy People 2010 breastfeeding goals, only 13.6% of U.S. infants are exclusively breastfeeding and only 43% are breastfeeding at all at six months of age.
Breastfeeding expert and MomsRising blogger Dr. Jerry Calnen argues, “If we are serious about improving our breastfeeding rates, a national paid maternity leave policy will be absolutely necessary.” Other momsrising bloggers have made excellent discussions of this issue as well, including; AmberStrocel, Morra Aarons-Mele, Nanette Fondas, Melissa Bartick, Bettina Forbes, and Alison Stuebe.
In addition to supporting breastfeeding, paid family leave combats poverty, gives children a healthy start, lowers infant mortality, and lowers the wage gap between women and men by providing structural support to balance work and family life [2]. In the U.S., only 49% of mothers are able to cobble together paid leave following childbirth by using sick days, vacation days, disability leave, and maternity leave. And 51% of new mothers lack any paid leave — so some take unpaid leave, some quit, some even lose their jobs.No wonder having a baby is a leading cause of “poverty spells” in our nation!
Paid family leave can help give kids a healthier start and give families the economic security they need to stay out of poverty at a critical time. Join me in educating members of Congress about the important connection between breastfeeding and paid leave. The limited, patchwork system we have in place now just isn’t cutting it for families.
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Footnotes
1. Guendelman, Sylvia; Lang Kosa, Jessica; Pearl, Michelle; Graham, Steve; Goodman, Julia;& Kharrazi, Martin. (2009). Juggling work and breastfeeding: effects of maternity leave and occupational characteristics. Pediatrics, 123, e38-e46
2. Jane Waldfogel, “Understanding the ‘Family Gap’ in Pay for Women with Children,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 12, no. 1 (1998), 137-156
24 Comments
August 7, 2009 at 10:56 pm by Beth ZWe will have to agree to disagree that PTO is a benefit, not a right.
How about this unintended consequence of the legislation you wish to see passed- unemployment is at an all time high. Men and women are seeking jobs. If given the opportunity to hired a young man or a woman of child bearing age, who would you hire if given a choice? The man who is willing to accept 2 weeks paid vacation or the gal who’s going to cost you THREE MONTHES of PTO for every pregnancy?
It’s not rocket science. Be careful for what you wish for.
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August 7, 2009 at 10:52 am by RebeccaI have an issue with this quote: “If Moms wish to work, THEY need to figure how to make breastfeeding happen successfully.” Many moms, myself included, work because they need to feed their families, not because they wish to work. I happen to be in a field that makes more money than my husband, and we need my income to survive.
FMLA doesn’t guarantee pay, nor does it apply to small businesses, and the first 2 months a woman really needs to not work for physical reasons, let alone for the baby.
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August 7, 2009 at 8:19 am by Alison SauerJust to clarify I never said the company should pay for maternity – the government should pay like they do here in Britain. In fact we have just extended paid leave. the pay is not much (just over $200 per week) but it means the difference between having to go back and spending those precious months with your child.
“If you get Statutory Maternity Pay, your employer will pay you 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then up to £123.06 for the remaining 33 weeks. You pay tax and National Insurance in the same way as on your regular wages.
Your employer reclaims the majority of SMP from their National Insurance contributions and other payments. To qualify for SMP you must pay tax and National Insurance as an employee (or would pay if you earned enough or are old enough).”
In addition you can take unpaid leave stretching the total time taken off work, with your job remaining secure, to a total of one year (52 weeks). Vital, I think, for the health of the next generation…..
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August 7, 2009 at 8:09 am by alison sauerRights are defined by morals as well as constitutions……I consider time off to be a human right. The constitution of the US is not infallible – it allowed slavery if you remember. I consider all work and no time of to be another form of such slavery. (as is working for commission only)
And anyhow why the beef with helping out the childbearing? America claims to be a christian country – surely helping one’s neighbours is a christian tennet? Isn’t some form of fedral/state net to catch the worse off and give them a helping hand just a formalised extension of that? Or do you believe the worse off (not just in monetary terms) are there through their own fault and should sort themselves out? I’m genuinely interested to know WHY you think people should not have certain rights and help. Of course I’m British (and married to a German) and so maybe it’s a cultural thing….
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August 7, 2009 at 12:10 am by Stefanie FreeleThere are no easy answers, but I’m glad you are taking up the fight.
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August 6, 2009 at 1:01 pm by Alison SauerI am appalled at this situation. In the States I think the help to breastfeed is better than here in Britain however the support to stay home is non-existant. No paid holiday either? Terrible!
Paid leave IS a right. A human right. We work harder than ever before, pay more tax, have less time with our families and our wages compared to those at the top of companies are appalling.
I have many American friends who live here and are saddened by the US attitude to holidays and maternity leave. And Beth – I’m sorry but if you don’t want to be bothered by deliquent teenagers when you are old and grey you may want to think about supporting families to bring up their children as well and as healthily as possible. Do you also object to your tax dollars going to fund education? Because believe me, a little investment at the right time saves a massive bill (unemployment, jail etc) later on.
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Anonymous Reply:
August 6th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
@Alison Sauer, please show me where on the US Constitution that it states that paid time off is a right.
The left of this country seem to think that the wallet is open, and now is the time to push through their desired legislation. Guess what, we’re broke and it’s time to work within a budget.
Putting this added expense on employers is utterly ridiculous at this moment in time.
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The simple solution is to allow anyone who needs to care for a family member (parent/child/guardian) to collect unemployment benefits for a reasonable period of time after the event (birth, hospitalization, adoption, death, etc) just like they do in Canada.
In Canada they call it “Employment Insurance” – and guess what? They have a stronger economy, and a lower unemployment rate than we do. They also have a better attitude toward breastfeeding (whether related or not.) Their system works. So why won’t America realize that it’s living in the dark ages when it comes to these kinds of things? It’s time to step into the 21st century here America. Rome fell… so can we.
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August 6, 2009 at 9:52 am by C. tompkinsCouldn’t read the petition – where is it?
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Anita Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
@C. tompkins, here’s the link to the petition again: http://momsrising.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/t/9251/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=923
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I’m sorry, I don’t agree that a company must be forced by the Government to pay someone for work they didn’t do. If a Mom has used up her vacation time, sick time, any PTO they have accumulated, they need to get back to work, or use FMLA.
If Moms wish to work, THEY need to figure how to make breastfeeding happen successfully.
I have this image in my head of a Mother at the teet of the government, and it sickens me.
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Ashley Reply:
August 6th, 2009 at 9:49 am
@Beth Z, A lot of women don’t get FMLA because their companies are too small or they are consultants. In the U.S. we have extremely short leave from work when compare to other developed (primarily European countries). I agree that it may be a burden for companies to pay moms during leave, so maybe the government should like they do in Europe…the U.S. govt subsidizes things that are a lot less important than this issue.
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Beth Z Reply:
August 6th, 2009 at 11:29 am
@Ashley, I am not likely to embrace a plan that forces me (by using my tax dollars, collected by the government) to pay for time off by anyone.
I don’t think people realize when subsidy money comes from. They aren’t donated dollars, they are tax dollars taken forcefully.
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Katie Bethell Reply:
August 6th, 2009 at 9:56 am
@Beth Z, another great proposal on the table for family leave is to pay for it with employee contributions. It would work just like unemployment insurance — folks pay in to a fund, and then when they need it, the money is available to provide some wage replacement while they’re out. It’s a pretty great way to make sure everyone can afford to take time.
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Beth Z Reply:
August 6th, 2009 at 11:26 am
@Katie Bethell, that plan works for me. My husband is not paid ANY vacation time by his employer. It is up to us to bank a fund that will pay him when he takes time off.
Paid time off is a benefit, not a right.
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I am a strong breastfeeding supporter, but returning to work after only 12 weeks (FMLA leave – mostly unpaid) left me heartbroken, and my supply in the dust. I had to supplement at 4 months with a friends extra breastmilk, and could only pump about 4-5oz a DAY total (4-5 pumping sessions, every 2.5 hours)! Finally I had to quit pumping at work when my son reached about 9 months, and could only breastfeed in the morning and at night. This lasted until he was almost 12 months old. I tried everything to get more time off work, they would not allow me to go part time, or even take a temporary lay-off. Now, I am 6 months pregnant and already stressed about how I can prioritize my family AND pay the bills. Please help make the U.S. government aware of this issue. And fight for the right of women and mothers!
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