The Issue Of Paid Maternity Leave

Any expecting, working mothers can relate to the stress of having a child, then having going back to work right after giving birth or having to worry about unpaid maternity leave. “The U.S. is the only developed nation that does not ensure a parent can be home with a new child and put food on the table for at least a block of weeks”. The first weeks of a baby’s life are priceless, a time when the parents should be bonding with the baby and properly caring for them, as well as recovering from the stresses of birth but, our country and our state fails to provide for these new families. Some of the most important points to highlight are how employers are affected, where the extra money would be coming from, previous attempts at solving the issue, …show more content…
So, a proposed solution to this growing issue is to establish a law for businesses with over 50 employees to require at least 12 weeks of paid maternity leave in the state of Ohio.
The issue of paid maternity leave is a public policy issue because so many citizens would be affected by this, both employers and employees. All working, expecting parents who are middle-class or lower are affected by this. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) guarantees unpaid leave of 12 weeks, but most workers cannot afford to take time off, even more so with a baby. The FMLA helps to ensure a break off to take care of individual problems, such as births or illnesses. But, it is risky to take this leave due to the money they may …show more content…
Paid maternity leave is an important problem for further study mainly because of the way it affects such a large group of people in our state. Since it is such a big problem, it is in need of a big solution. Not only are mothers affected in this situation, but fathers and newborns are also affected. No paid maternity leave is an important problem for Ohio because it could possibly connect to the high infant mortality rates in Ohio. Ohio State Legislative needs to implement a law to provide basic needs for the mothers of Ohio. If mothers are more concerned with their job and earning money, they may not be caring for their child properly. If mothers do take an unpaid leave, they may be reluctant to purchase necessary items for the baby due to the low income, resulting in improper care. A few professors from McGill University and UCLA conducted a study to determine whether or not paid maternity leave was connected to infant mortality rates. The study concludes that “More generous paid maternity leave policies represent a potential instrument for facilitating early-life interventions and reducing infant mortality”. The conclusions in this study are important to note especially for Ohio, being in the top 10 of most infant deaths in the whole country. Since the increase of infant mortality rates by 2015, new laws need to be implemented to not only educate new mothers, but to ensure they have the time and money for their