Be aware, it is possible this article may make you very frustrated. The truth is most of the world does offer some sort of paid maternity leave. As a matter of fact, there are only 5 countries in the entire world that do not. These countries are Australia, United States, Liberia, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea.

A lot of the states that offer maternity leave actually offer family leave that is available to both mothers and fathers. The most generous country in the world has a maternity leave policy of 8 weeks of 100% paid leave – BEFORE the due date. After the due date, mothers receive one full year at 100% paid leave. Then another year at 85% paid leave, and then a third year unpaid leave is also available. What is even more generous is that this applies to either the mother or the father – or they can take the leave in shifts. In addition, the father gets one full month of paternal leave after the birth. The country where these benefits are available is Lithuania. It seems unreal that almost all the countries in the world have these benefits, yet the wealthiest country on the globe does not.

There is a little bit of protection for mothers. In 1993, the US passed the Family and Medical Leave Act. If you work for a large company (50+ employees) then you are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Additionally, you cannot be fired for being pregnant and your job is protected while you are gone. I suppose this is better than nothing. However, America runs on small businesses. Millions of women work for companies that have less than 50 employees and unfortunately they are just not protected.

So then it is up to the mother how long they want to take maternity leave for. First of all, they have to make sure their household can still run without that income. It is important to plan ahead for this if possible. Additionally, a new mother’s body needs time to heal. Mothers also need time to bond with their newborns. It is also very important to establish a healthy household routine for yourself and your baby. Once all of these things are done, then it is okay to return to work and leave your baby in someone else’s care. Some people can accomplish all this in 6 weeks and for some it makes take several months. Maybe you should consider going to Lithuania where you can have 3 years off of work – or even a year and half with your baby’s father!