Almost everyone agrees that motherhood is one of the hardest jobs in the world, but let’s be honest, no one gets compensated like this (at least in the United States). In fact, a new survey shows that new moms are actually losing a lot of money, largely due to unpaid maternity leave.
The survey released today by What to Expect found that 51% of U.S. parents took some form of unpaid leave to care for their newborn, resulting in an average loss of $9,480.
The survey included responses from 2,275 women aged 18 to 54 who were currently pregnant or had at least one child under the age of 5.
In the United States, the Family and Medical Leave Act grants most workers 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave. but Salary Parental leave is not a given—in fact, only 13 states have passed legislation mandating paid parental leave. Even when paid family leave is required, it may only be six weeks, as in Wisconsin.
This is in stark contrast to other comparable countries. OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries offer an average of 18.6 weeks of paid maternity leave. They’re also mostly well paid, with 16 countries paying mothers 100% of their income – not exactly like the situation in the United States.
Given that the World Health Organization recommends taking at least 14 weeks of maternity leave to recover from pregnancy, it’s no surprise that moms in the United States often feel like they have to take a period of unpaid leave, even if it’s paid as required by their state Outside of vacation.
The women surveyed took an average of 11 weeks off, with 25% taking six weeks or less – likely not enough time to get back to where they were before.
The figure is even lower for couples who have not given birth, who take an average of five weeks off, with 29% taking just a few days or no time at all – meaning less time to bond with their new baby and help others. I also spend less time at home with my parents.
The survey found that the vast majority of parents felt the time off was not long enough, but felt they had no choice but to return to work.
“I just wish I had more time to recover and bond with my baby,” one respondent said. “Six to eight weeks is not enough and I have no choice to stay home because of the toll it would have on my family.” Said there was no financial help.”
Even though parents returned to work early to avoid financial losses, respondents reported an average loss of $9,480.
Households said they had to make significant changes to their financial situation, with 43% cutting non-essential spending, 37% cutting their budgets and 37% having to dip into savings.
“I used all my savings to pay for my unemployment expenses,” one respondent said.
Twenty-four percent of respondents said they are increasingly relying on credit cards due to new financial difficulties, and 10 percent have stopped contributing to retirement accounts.
So, yes, the numbers are grim. But What to Expect hopes to address these issues by advocating for a national paid family leave policy. You can also contact your representative yourself or through the What to Expect project website.
Or we could stare into the distance and dream of moving to some far-off European country for a four-month fully paid vacation (I’m coming to you, Austria).
