According to the United Nations only two countries in the world do not have some type of paid maternity leave for new mothers currently in place. One of those countries is the United States, and the other is Papua New Guinea (Oliver). Our country is the only member of the OECD (a group of government alliances) with an average of zero weeks for paid maternity leave and the only industrialized country in the world that does not guarantee women a paid maternity leave. Every other country within the alliance offers a minimum of 12 consecutive weeks of paid leave to new mothers. The United States currently has an act called The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in place that was passed in 1993. The act allows 12 weeks unpaid leave for maternity (and other family emergencies) but only if the employee meets the following requirements: has been employed by the company for at least a year, worked 1,250 or more hours in the past year, and the company must employ over 50 people. Only 40% of all workers are eligible to receive the benefits of the FMLA because they do not meet the requirements indicated in the guidelines. Mandating what almost all other countries in the world have, the Paid Family Leave Act (PFL), would have an abundance of positive benefits for the newborn, the mother, and even the economy. The PFL would cover a much higher percentage of workers and would provide paid leave for maternity, family illnesses, deaths, and a few other circumstances.

A study was completed in 2011 over 141 countries and it was found that a paid maternity leave reduces the infant mortality rate by almost 10%. New mothers are also more likely to get their newborn vaccinated when they have access to this leave, newborns were 20% more likely to get their vaccines and recommended well checks compared to no increase in vaccines when the paid leave is not an option. A study conducted in California (one of the few states that have mandated a paid maternity leave) in 2011 showed that mothers breastfed their newborn for twice as long than in states with no paid leave. Breastfeeding has a positive correlation with the mental and physical health of infants and a paid leave would allow for these benefits to be provided to the infant. Breastfeeding is proven to reduce the risk of inflammatory bowel disease in the infant, type 2 diabetes and obesity later in life (Le Huerou-Luron). 

There is evidence that Paid Maternity leave also has a positive effect on birth weight. "Paid leave reduces the proportion of early term births by over 1 percentage point, or 6.6 percent. It reduces the share of births in the bottom quintile of the birth weight distribution by 0.39 percentage points, or 2.6 percent" (Stearns). The research conducted shows that the leave not only reduces premature births but lowers the amount of babies born in the lowest percentile of weight. The current percent of babies that are born prematurely in the U.S. is 9.6% and if paid maternity leave was mandated across the whole country we could reduce this amount tremendously (to around 4% or less). Paid leave reduces stress on the mother which in turn benefits the baby, "maternal stress and cortisol levels negatively affect the fetus and can cause lower birth weight, shorter gestational age, and longer term effects on health and educational attainment" (Stearns). Birthweight doesn't just affect a baby at and immediately after its birth. Birthweight has an effect on child growth and development for years after their birth and mandating a paid leave will allow the average birthweight to increase which improves the growth and development range of children across the United States. 

A paid maternity leave creates benefits for the mother that include, bonding with the baby, reduced probability of going  through post-partum depression, and it gives the mother time to get family matters in order. Zoe Atiken conducted a research project of all published studies that had a correlation between paid maternity leave and maternal health. After sorting through thousands of articles and studies from all around the globe seven were found to be credible, unbiased, and had proper evidence from experiments or studies. What the studies showed is that there is a large positive correlation between paid maternity leave and maternal mental health. "Whitehouse et al. (2013) reported that Australian women who took increasing lengths of paid maternity leave reported reduced psychological distress; mothers who took more than 13 weeks paid leave had 76% lower odds of psychological distress than mothers who took no leave. An American study found that having less than eight weeks paid leave was associated with a 9% increase in the geometric mean depression score and a 2% greater risk of severe depression compared with women who took eight or more weeks of paid leave (Chatterji and Markowitz, 2012)" (Atiken). Post-partum depression is characterized by insomnia, anxiety, irritability, trouble bonding with the baby, etc. and because of the commonality and severity of this illness suicide is the second most common cause of death in women the following year after birth (Shortall).

Many critics of the PFL act believe that mandating this act will be detrimental to the economy but there is no evidence to support this claim. When a women's place of employment provides a paid maternity leave women are more likely to return to the workplace. It makes women feel more appreciated by the company and allows them to have a better connection with their job. When women like their job and have a good work relationship it leads to more hours of work put in and better quality of work. Women are more likely to resign without the paid leave so that they can care for their child or get an extended leave. Women are unable to take their full unpaid leave that is provided by the FMLA (12 weeks) because they cannot afford to lose income while staying home with their newborn. Women currently make up 47% of the work force and in 40% households women are the breadwinners so work is not optional (Shortall). Thus they are forced to go back to work prematurely knowing that they should still be at home nurturing their infant and taking care of their wellbeing. This creates stress between women and the work force and in turn women are resenting their work/work environment or if they have a significant other that has a job the woman will actually quit their job so they can stay with their infant for an extended period of time. Providing the PFL act produces a positive change in wages because of the mother's attachment to the labor force. When women are more likely to return to their job it significantly reduces the amount of mothers that request and receive food stamps and go on public assistance (Campbell). "According to a 2012 report from the US Department of Labor on family and medical leave, about 15% of people who were not paid or who received partial pay while on leave turned to public assistance for help" (Gillett). Reducing the amount of mothers who need government assistance by providing a paid leave will boost our economy as a whole not to mention help new mothers become financially stable for their families.  

A Doctor from Cambridge Hospital who specializes in breastfeeding medicine reviewed a study that was done with breastfeeding and costs and computed data to show the correlation between the two. This study provides evidence that there would be no detrimental effects on our nation's economy if we were to pass a nationwide act that provide paid leave. The results from the study showed that "if 90% of mothers could comply with current medical recommendations around breastfeeding, our economy could save $3.7 billion in direct and indirect pediatric health costs, with $10.1 billion in premature death from pediatric disease" (Bartick). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers breastfeed for at least the first 12 months after birth while the World Health Organization recommends mothers breastfeed all the up to two years or beyond. The paid maternity leave as explained above is shown to increase the amount of time mothers' breastfeed by 200%. More than 80% of mothers without access to PFL only nurse for six months or less. If we could mandate a nationwide paid maternity leave infants would receive the full benefits of breastfeeding and so would our economy. The study makes a conclusion calculation that if the government was responsible for paying for paid leave (instead of each individual company) our economy would still experience a net gross of around $8.7 billion (Bartick).  

California was the first state, in 2002, to mandate the PFL act that enables most working Californians to receive 55% of their usual salary (up to $1,104) for a maximum of six weeks (Oliver). New Jersey and Rhode Island are the only other two states that have followed thus far and set up some form of paid leave. A report done on the state of California showed that over 90% of employers had either a positive effect or a neutral affect after the act was in place. The FMLA may be used for the birth of a child, adoption of a child, or to care for a sick family member. But because only 40% of workers (and a lower percent of mothers) are able to receive the benefits of this act many women are forced to use up their saved sick and vacation days to care for their infant, none of which are paid.  

In 2012 the global average for paid maternity leave is seven weeks at full pay. At the high end of paid maternity leave the United Kingdom provide the option for new mothers and fathers to take 280 days of paid leave at 90% of their weekly salary during their entire leave. On the lower end of the spectrum is Saudi Arabia, they provide new mothers with 70 days of paid maternity leave at 50% of their original income. The United States offers a dismal number of zero days of paid maternity leave to new mothers. Many believe that it is a women's choice to have a child and so she should be responsible for her actions and that a paid maternity leave is an unnecessary incentive in the workplace. Childbirth is a public good, women are responsible for populating the Earth and these children that women are having turn into the next generation's workforce. Women should not be punished by returning to work prematurely when their body and mind is not healed and when their newborns (who are America's future) are not ready to be independent from their mothers and face negative health effects because of the lack of this act. Our country should be supporting women who decide to have families, starting a family is the most financially vulnerable time for most people and our country needs to join nearly every other country in the world to help support families. "We have to stop framing this as a mother's issue or even a women's issue this is an American issue" (Shortall).

Mothers all over the country face problems every day because our country does not have the PFL act. One example is a mother in Fort Mill, SC who recently adopted a sick infant because the baby was born prematurely with many medical conditions and no other family members to care for the child. The new mother did not intend on having any more children and did not have much of a notice from the adoption agency when the child would be arriving. The mother was forced to return to work a week after receiving the baby because she could not afford to take any more days off of work and she had used up the majority of her sick days to care for the child. The mother switched to working from home (an option many mothers do not receive) after the baby arrived because the baby and mother needed time to bond (a very important process when adopting an infant). The new mother faced the added stress of taking care of a sick baby while working a full time job to support her family. Over the course of a few weeks the mother's weekly hours of work dramatically reduced because she was only able to work at night so that she could take care of the infant during the day and help it become accustomed to its new environment.  If this new mom had access to a PFL act she would be able to properly care for the sick infant without the added stress of adding work to the new situation right away. The infant would have an easier time bonding with the mother and both would experience less stress if the mother could take an extended leave off of work. This situation is just one example of thousands that new mothers face because they are unable to use the FMLA and the PFL act is not yet a part of our country. 

As a nation we may be wealthy but as individuals we are lacking many basic necessities such as paid family leave. A paid maternity leave would help benefit the health of new mothers, the newborns, and it would boost our economy. Currently only 12% of Americans have access to a paid leave even though the leave would create many positive outcomes. We are the only industrialized country in the world that does not give women the right to a paid maternity leave and that it is affecting our country as a whole. It is acknowledged that there should be a cap for the amount of time given for paid leave that is supported by research done in other countries. We are a country that prides ourselves with family values and monetary value yet we are one of the few nations in the world that refuses new mothers a paid leave so that they have the opportunity to bond with their newborn and receive the benefits stated above. Raising awareness on this issue and showing the many benefits of the Paid Family Leave Act is the first step towards the end goal of mandating this act across the United States as a whole. The FMLA is nearly 25 years old and it is time we update this act for the benefit of our country and our citizens.

