Pregnancy and Parenting Leave

Benefits for Families and Employers

What is Pregnancy and Parenting Leave?

Parenting leave, which is covered under family/medical leave laws, allow men or women to take time off
from work to prepare for, bond with, or care for a new child. The child may be biological, adopted, or be a
foster child. Parenting leave, which may be paid or unpaid, also covers care for a seriously ill spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent (1). Pregnancy disability leave is unpaid and allows women to take time off
from work if they are disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. In some cases,
women may not take leave and instead request a reduced work schedule or a transfer to a less strenuous
position at work. If the request can be reasonably accommodated, employers must grant it (2). Pregnancy and parenting leave may also be referred to as maternity leave, paternity leave, or family leave (1).

Why is leave important?

Maternal-child health isnt just an issue inside
a familys home. 66% of women work during
their pregnancy, and more than 40% will return
to full-time work in less than three months (3).
Mothers and pregnant women are part of the
workforce and their ability to take leave has a
direct impact on their health, their productivity
at work, and the health of their children. Also,
the ability for men to take time off from work
is important for their roles as fathers. Working parents access to adequate pregnancy and
parental leave is a public health imperative.

What laws* should employers

know about?

Federal Family and Medical Leave Act/California Family Rights Act: In the US, eligible workers can take 12
weeks of job-protected unpaid family or medical leave.

Paid Family Leave Program: In California, eligible workers

can receive partial wage replacement for up to 6 weeks to bond
with a new child (or to care for a seriously ill family member).
California Fair Employment and Housing Act: If a woman is disabled by pregnancy, she may be entitled to up to 4
months of pregnancy disability leave. Leave may be taken
for a single block of time or for multiple, shorter periods.
*These laws have varying eligibility requirements and as a result, do not
apply to all workers.

Who Are We?

The Healthy Mothers Workplace Coalition is a collaboration of non-profit organizations, government agencies, and employers created to improve the working conditions and health of new parents.
The Legal Aid Society Employment Law Center, San Francisco Department of Public Health
Maternal and Child Health, and students from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health have
collaborated to study and improve workplace policies to support employers and working parents.

Note: UC Berkeley graduate students worked on this project as part of a class assignment under the supervision of Dr. Sylvia Guendelman during the Fall semester of 2013.

What are the Benefits for Employers?

What are the Benefits for Families?

Work Retention: Workplaces should provide policies that

allow men and women to remain employed and compensated while caring for their children. Paid Family Leave has
been shown to reduce employee turn over. According to a
survey of California businesses, Paid Family Leave had either
a positive effect or no noticeable effect on company performance (4). This suggests that time away from work allows
employees to be more present and productive while at work.

Strengthened economic security: Having a job increases

the amount of household resources and allows a family to
financially care for their children. Family leave laws ensure
that when an eligible employee takes time off from work he
or she will not lose their job. Thus, family leave laws provide employment security (4). Paid leave contributes to immediate economic security and better retirement incomes
for families (1).

Competitive US labor market: US employers trail behind most industrialized wealthy nations in terms of leave
allowances. Under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA),
US employees can take 12 weeks of unpaid, job protective leave. However, only 60% of workers are eligible for
FMLA (5). The US is the only industrialized nation not to
mandate paid pregnancy and parental leave. Most industrialized countries, including the United Kingdom and Sweden, offer between three months and one year of paid leave
for a two-parent family. Many industrialized countries
also offer more unpaid leave than the United States (6).

What Can Employers Do?

Offer pregnancy and parenting leave to all employees: All working parents deserve an adequate amount
of time away from work to care for and bond with
new children. Currently, many employees are excluded from pregnancy and parental leave benefit policies (4). Therefore, employers should offer some type
of job-protected leave, for all their employees (12).
Extend quality employer-provided leave: To promote optimal health conditions for mother and baby,
the Healthy Mothers Workplace Coalition recommends
that employers extend job-protected leave to 4 to 6
months and continue to pay salary and benefits to all
employees on leave (12). Employer provided leave policies should also be available to employees with older children who are in need of additional care as well as
to employees with sick spouses, partners, or parents.

Advise low-wage workers about Paid Family Leave:

Employers should advise all workers of their rights to take
leave under state and federal laws and programs. Low-wage
workers, or those earning less than $20/hour, in particular
have a lot to gain from Californias Paid Family Leave program. Studies show that eligible low-wage workers benefit from partial wage replacement and the program has
a positive effect on their ability to care for their child (4).

Grant pregnancy accommodation requests: Employers should provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, such as allowing pregnant workers to sit on a
stool or transferring pregnant workers to a less hazardous position, if available (12). Employers may request a
medical certification to verify that the employee is either
unable to work or needs a modified work schedule (2).

Health Outcomes: Pregnancy and parental leave offers

many physical and mental health benefits for families. It is
important that mothers have safe and healthy pregnancies.
Parents also must have adequate time to bond with a new
child especially during the first few months of a childs life.

Health Benefits of Leave

Healthy Pregnancies: Leave taken before the birth

of a child is positively associated with lower perinatal
mortality (7). Pregnancy disability leave helps mothers cope with pregnancy complications that in turn
can impact the survival and health of a newborn child.
Physical Health: Leave decreases infant mortality and increases the likelihood of child immunizations,
child
preventative
care
visits,
and breastfeeding initiation and duration (4).
Physical Recovery from Childbirth: Leave allows
women to recover from common maternal health problems that arise within the first 6 to 7 months post-delivery. They include tiredness, back pain, minor illnesses, and also pain associated with caesarean sections (8).
Emotional Well-Being of Parents: Parents can bond with
children without fear of job loss or total wage loss. Longer maternity leave may also decrease depression in mothers (7).

Infant Brain Development: Within the first six months of

life, infants experience complex development of the senses,
which are critical to attachment with their parental caregivers. Disruptions in attachment are linked to a number
of mental disorders such as depression and autism (9).
Child Development Milestones: Mothers return to work
within 3 months of giving birth has negative effects on child
cognitive development, especially on vocabulary (10).

Gender Equity: Leave programs available to men and

women extend childcare roles to both genders1. Since
2005, men have been taking longer family leaves (4).
Care for Children with Serious Health Needs:
Parents who had paid sick or vacation leave are
more than 5 times as likely to care for their sick
children compared to those without leave (11).

Sources

1. Kamerman, Sheila. From maternity to parental leave policies: womens health, employment
and child and family well-being. American Medical Womens Association. 55.2 (2000): 96-99.
Print.

2. Taking Leave from Work: Pregnancy/Prenatal Care/Bonding with a New Child. Legal Aid Society- Employment Law Center. The Legal Aid Society of San Francisco. Web. 27 Nov 2013. Available
from http://www.las-elc.org/factsheets/leave-pregnancy.pdf
3. Lynda Laughlin. Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns of First-Time Mothers. Current
Population Reports. Washington DC: Census Bureau, 2008. Web. 11 Oct 2013. Available from
http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p70-128.pdf

4. Appelbaum, Eileen, and Ruth Milkman, Awareness of Californias Paid Family Leave Program
Remains Limited, Especially Among Those Who Would Benefit From It Most. Center for Economic and Policy Research. Center for Economic and Policy Research. (2008 Sept) Web. 7 Oct 2013.
Available from http://www.paidfamilyleave.org/pdf/ParentalLeave21Countries.pdf

5. A Look at the US Department of Labors 2012 Family Medical Leave Act Employees and
Worksite Surveys. Research Library. National Partnership of Women and Families, 01 February
2013. Web. 27 Nov 2013. Available from http://go.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/DOL_
FMLA_Survey_2012_Key_Findings.pdf?docID=11862

6. Ray, Rebecca, Janet Gornick, and John Schmitt. Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equity. Paid Family Leave. Center for Economic and Policy Research, 1
Sep 2008. Web. 22 Oct 2013. Available from http://www.paidfamilyleave.org/pdf/ParentalLeave21Countries.pdf
7. Staehelin, Katharina, Paola Coda Bertea, and Elisabeth Zemp Stutz. Length of maternity leave
and health of mother and child a review. International Journal of Public Health. 52. (2007):
202209. Web. 22 Oct 2013. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18030952

8. Brown, Stephanie, and Judith Lumley. Physical health problems after childbirth and maternal
depression at six to seven months postpartum. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
107. (2000): 1194-1201. Print.

9. Schore, Allan. Perspectives of Regulation Theory: Early Brain Development and the Increased
Prevalence of Severe Mental Disorders in U.S. Youth. UCLA Extension and Lifespan Learning Institute. UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Los Angeles. 10 Mar 2012.
10. Baum CL. 2003. Does early Maternal Employment harm Child Development? An Analysis
of the Potential Benefits of Leave Taking. Journal of Labor Economics. 21(2);381-408. Web. 7
Oct 2013. Available from http://www.academicroom.com/article/does-early-maternal-employment-harm-child-development-analysis-potential-benefits-leave-taking

11. Heymann SJ, Toomey S, Furstenberg F. 1999. Working parents: what factors are involved in
their ability to take time off from work when their children are sick? Arch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 153:870-4. Print.
12. Healthy Mothers Workplace Coalition, Self-Assessment for Excellence as a Health Mothers
Workplace: Criteria for 2013 San Francisco Healthy Mothers Workplace Awards. 3 Jun 2013.
Print.