Maternity Leave

No, this is not a big announcement that I'm pregnant. Sorry to disappoint you folks, but I'll be sure to let you know when/if that ever happens :)

One of the most substantial differences I have observed between Poland and the United States is the differences in maternity leave. In the US, most new mothers are lucky to get six weeks to be with their new baby before returning to work. In Poland, mothers are given 20 weeks (soon to be 22 weeks) of full-pay maternity leave. Mothers who give birth to multiples are given more time off based on the number of newborn children. Also, working fathers in Poland are given 4 weeks of paid leave to be with their wife and new child.

As a strong proponent of stay-at-home moms, I'm in love with maternity leave here. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that in our country we encourage mothers to go back to work after only 6 weeks. Or, they can opt to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Doesn't seem fair. Unfortunately in the US, many families cannot afford to lose one salary in order to be home with their baby. I am firm believer that babies need their mommies when they're little. I would feel much more comfortable going back to work after my baby is 5 months old instead of 6 weeks old.

My mother-in-law has an awesome job. Her job is a combination of social work and nursing and it involves newborn babies. Every, let me repeat, EVERY family is entitled to someone like my mother-in-law who visits the family six times. During these visits, she answers any questions about parenting, listens to the parents' concerns about their baby, helps them solve problems and checks in on the baby's health and of course gets to give the babies lots of love. These services are provided by the government and covered in their version of universal health care. Therefore, no one is discriminated against. Families are allowed to refuse service and many do if they already have more than one child.

I admire my mother-in-law and her job. What a great example of how Poland is light years ahead of the US by allowing mothers and fathers paid time off to be with their baby and providing a professional to visit their home and help them with all aspects of parenting and raising a new born child. I can speak to you from what I've observed, parents often call her with questions about their baby and she willingly helps them out. How wonderful that is for families who did not have good role models or anyone knowledge about child development. I think it helps make parenthood a little bit easier knowing that there is someone there to help you out with something that is so foreign yet so dependent on you. I really wish the United States had this service available to all of our new born babies and their families.