Hardly any parental leave in the USA: Mother despairs because she cannot be with her premature baby

Hardly any parental leave in the USA
Mother despairs because she cannot be with her premature baby

For a young woman from Pennsylvania, USA, life as a mother starts with many obstacles: Rebecca Shumard gives birth to her baby daughter far too soon. After 27 weeks, i.e. almost six months, the girl is born. But that’s not all: she is only entitled to just under two months of unpaid maternity leave with her employer. Time that her little daughter Eden has to spend mostly in the hospital after the birth and forces her to make a difficult decision. Because by the time the baby is discharged from the premature baby station, the days off that the mother is legally entitled to would have been used up. She therefore decides to work so that she can spend the remaining days later at home with the little one. But not being with her is too much for the young mother. A video she recorded on TikTok shows her breaking down in tears at work.

No entitlement to time with the baby

Only 12 days after her delivery, the medical assistant is crying at work, processing documents. She is plagued by guilt that she cannot be with her daughter. In Pennsylvania, she can actually take twelve weeks of unpaid parental leave. However, only if they meet the requirements of the so-called “Family and Medical Leave Act” (FMLA for short) – a regulation that only applies to certain employers and on the condition that the employee has worked enough hours within the past twelve months has. Otherwise it is six to eight weeks, as she explains in a video a few days later. The only plus point: mothers can safely start their job again after this time. “How can anyone deal with the guilt of having to work instead of being with their baby?” she describes her situation on TikTok.

Full commitment instead of rest

There is no grace period for the young woman. Your job is understaffed. It is therefore difficult to pump milk regularly at work. “Will I even have milk when she comes home?” wonders Rebecca Shumard. Her words caused an uproar on the social network. The clip goes viral. Many people write to her and offer their support, both things for the young daughter and money so that they do not have to work. Eden stays in the preemie station for 72 days, which is longer than the free time that Rebecca Shumard is entitled to. But with the help of the many people on the Internet, the young mother manages to take more days off without having to worry about the money.

I’m incredibly grateful

“Because of you all, I’m not forced to choose between my daughter and paying the bill,” she wrote in a new clip with her daughter Eden. “I’m incredibly grateful,” he continued, while the little one nestled sleepily on her mom’s chest.

Maternity protection is a foreign word

“It’s the responsibility of our government and it disappointed us,” says Rebecca Shumard in a video a few days later. Other people’s generosity has helped her, but for many other parents, America needs to change. Because six weeks of statutory unpaid leave, even that is already a lot in many states in the USA: According to the Washington Post, only nine states and Washington DC even have a legal regulation for some kind of parental leave.

Maternity protection varies greatly around the world

Compared to the USA, there are enormous differences in Europe, but also in other parts of the world when it comes to parental leave. In Germany, the minimum length of parental leave is two months – but mothers and fathers can stay with the little ones for up to three years. However, parental allowance is only paid out for a maximum of twelve months. The payment is based on the average net income. Each parent is entitled to 67%. The minimum is 300 euros and the maximum is 1,800 euros.

Incidentally, Romania is the leader when it comes to parental leave. Here it is two years of parental leave per child at 85 percent of wages. In Lithuania, parental leave can be taken until the child is three years old, for the first 52 weeks even at 100 percent of salary. Fathers often have much less time with their children than mothers. Several countries, including Switzerland and the US, do not offer paid paternity leave after the baby is born. There is no type of paternity leave comparable to maternity leave in Germany either, but fortunately there is the option of parental leave.

Sources: Today.com, Eltern.de; Federal Ministry of Family Affairs; TikTok/edensmomma10_12, Pennsylvania Office of Administration, Tagesschau.de, US Department of Labor

This text originally appeared on Eltern.de

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