Paid Parental Leave Essay

There is a strong link between health and paid parental leave. This leave allows mothers or fathers to spend time with infants, which leads to better health for both the child and the parent. During pregnancy and the early months after birth the brain is developing at its quickest speed (Avendano, Berkman, Brugiavini, & Pasini, 2015). While genetics plays a significant role in development, environment is also a crucial factor. The parents of children influence experiences and environmental settings of children at such a young age. The nature of the relationship between a child and their parent are essential to healthy development (Tanaka, 2005). Parental leave is associated with an increase in child vaccinations (Ochshorn & Skinner, 2012). This increase in vaccinations comes from timely doctor visits and a maintained schedule for checkups. This proves to be true even for families without adequate health insurance. The first …show more content…
This positive effect on infant mortality is only seen when the leave is paid (Skinner & Oschorn, 2012). In the United States, infant mortality is substantially lower when parents have access to partial pay for at least 12 weeks of leave (Burtle & Bezruchka, 2016). Many employees, especially mothers, care for children or other family members. Paid leave allows for parents to manage these tasks more efficiently without getting “burnt out”. According to Burtle & Bezruchka (2016), one-third of low-income workers without paid leave either delayed or neglected seeking care for an ill family member. Amongst employees in California, 44 percent of parents sent their children to school while sick because they did not have leave (Skinner & Oschorn, 2012). With a lack of paid leave policies affecting a lot of low-income families, there is a trend of more negative health consequences in these communities. Access to paid leave in these communities would allow for more flexibility among