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Katheriya Prowsri
Mr. Davis
Government 4
2 November 2015
The Benefits of Paid Maternity Leave
For a long time, mothers have struggled to balance between work and their young
children. In fact, a large portion of the female workforce consists of mothers. When these women
want to settle down and start a family, they have to go through all the trial and tribulations of
pregnancy, only to get in return twelve weeks of unpaid leave from work. Though they are able
to get time off of work, the problem with this is that these mothers may be financially struggling
to care for themselves, and now that they have a new life in their lives, they must be able to
financially take care of their new family member as well. This issue has become controversial
because of an increase in not only child care, but also food and the cost of living; families have
been finding that caring for their children has become increasingly tough. Paid maternity leave
would help many families because the cost of living is too high for mothers to afford it, financial
deficits leads to poor health for these womens families, and unpaid leave can have a lasting
impact on the children themselves.
For the past years, the cost of living has steadily increased while the federal minimum
wage has stayed the same. This is a bigger impact on single-mother families as the single mother
is the only parent that makes the money to care for the children and to at least provide some food
on the table. According to an article on poverty, approximately 60 percent of U.S. children
living in mother-only families are impoverished, compared with only 11 percent of two-parent
families (Kirby). These children suffer under the cost of living as their mother could not make
enough to have a comfortable way of living. If mothers are given paid maternity leave, this

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leaves them with money to care for their newborn and current children while away from work.
Thus, female employees who are single mothers would not have to worry about whether or not
they can afford the cost of childcare for a newborn. They also would not have to worry about
whether or not they will be able to provide for their children and be able to put food on the table.
Also, according to statistics, Average monthly child care expenditures increased by 26 percent
from 2005 to 2011 among families with employed mothers and children under the age of 6
(Smith 1). This means that the cost for child care has definitely increased over the years, making
it difficult for families to sustain a living. Another reason why the cost of living has definitely
impacted single mothers the most is because most heavily depend on food stamps and
government help, like welfare. The cost of living has impacted them in such a way that families
maintained by never-married mothers received their second largest share of before-tax income
from public assistance (24 percent), followed by food stamps (fifteen percent) (Lino 32).
According to this report on the income and spending pattern of families, single mothers heavily
depend on food stamps and government assistance because of the insufficient funds of caring for
themselves and their families. This shows how the cost of living forces many to rely and depend
on government assistance. These women should get paid maternity leave so they would not have
to rely so much on these programs and worry about whether or not their children will be able to
eat the next day or not. It is evident that the cost of living is too high for many mothers because
of data showing that many single-mother families are impoverished and have to rely on
government assistance and food stamps in order to barely make it through the day. Not only do
these financial problems play a role in the struggle of living, but they also play a role in poor
health for these affected families.

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Financial problems can lead to poor physical and mental health in many families. It can
cause mothers to go into depression because of the pressure of not knowing whether or not they
can care for their children because of the little income they make or the unpaid leave they get for
caring for the newborn. This can be bad for the children, as Other things in a womans life may
make the depression worse, such as financial problems Depression can cause mothers to be
inconsistent with the way they care for their children (Paediatr Child Health). This shows that
unpaid leave can have a huge effect on mothers because of the many anxious thoughts of
whether or not they can provide for their children. Not only can this financial predicament cause
depression for many mothers, but a depressed mother can also greatly affect their childrens
mental state. According to Hammen,77 percent of the children of depressed mothers showed
symptom increases at this [depression] level (Hammen 130). This means that depressed mothers
can affect their children by also making them depressed; this all stems from financial problems.
Also, because of these financial problems, Many families identify financial pressures as the
reason why a mother returned to work before her allotted period of unpaid leave was
over(Johnson 3). Because of these financial pressures, it causes a mother to become anxious and
very worrisome over being able to care for their child, so they force themselves to go back to
work despite their period of leave not being over yet. Unpaid maternity leave can leave mothers
and their children depressed. Not only do financial problems cause problems in health, but it can
also have a lasting impact on children.
When these children have little to no access to education, these children can become
underdeveloped in certain aspects purely because of the lack of funds they receive and poor way
of living. For example, research was done on the development of children in impoverished
families, and it turns out, the long-term poor show large deficits in cognitive and

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socioemotional development score significantly lower on tests of cognitive achievement

(Aber). This means that impoverished children have a lack, or very small, development in being
able to deal with people and themselves emotionally. Unpaid leave can lead to these problems
because the family is not able to provide for the children if they have to be on leave to care for
newborns. Another way unpaid leave can affect children is the way it renders the parents ability
to care for the children. According to the Council of Economic Advisers, The lack of access to
arrangements that help parents care for ultimately have a negative effect on the health and
education of children with low-income working parents (The Council of Economic Advisers).
Unpaid leave can impact the children in this way because the parents will not have access to
things that provide for the children, thus, leading to it having a negative impact on their health
and education. Another thing that can affect a childs health because of their family being unable
to support them is the lack of vaccines. The immunization rate is high for children with parents
that have paid leave, but when compared to children with parents without paid leave, the children
with unpaid leave parents were less likely to get vaccinated (Hajizadeh). While unpaid leave can
leave a huge impact on the affected children, it can be said that there are negative effects to it
being paid, too.
Many argue that paid maternity leave would not benefit the workers. Paid maternity leave
would cause the workers to overwork themselves for fear of being look down upon and
uncommitted to their jobs by their fellow employees (Wallace). However, employees should not
have this kind of doubt in mind as there is statistical evidence that suggests that workers do
not abuse paid sick days. A survey of 251 employers conducted after Connecticut implemented a
paid sick leave program found that employees did not abuse the policy by taking unnecessary
sick days (The Council of Economic Advisers 17). This goes to show that employees in general

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have no fear to feel looked down upon just because they are taking necessary leaves. They will
not be seen as abusing the policy. Also, if an employee was suffering from postnatal depression,
they wouldnt even be able to work well in the workplace because of their mental instability. It
has been cited that Paid maternity leave was cited in submissions and public consultations as
one means of addressing postnatal depression (Australian Human Rights Commission). Another
argument many would also say is that this would be costly to companies because according to
this article by Hall, It is costly to employers her employer loses her labor services, and
may have to pay overtime wages to cover her lost work hours(Hall). However, Hall is incorrect
because according to research done by the Council of Economic Advisers, the median cost of
replacing an employee was 21 percent of that employees annual salary (The Council of
Economic Advisers 17). Paid leave would barely affect companies because they do not take up
much of a companys resources. Thus, these counter-arguments are proven wrong because paid
leave does not negatively impact a workers morale and it is cost-efficient for many, if not all,
companies.
Paid maternity leave would actually help many families in need because the cost of living
has become too high for mothers, financial problems can cause poor health, and unpaid leave can
greatly impact children. If paid maternity leave becomes available to the United States, imagine
the many problems it can solve. Paid maternity leave can possibly alleviate the poverty rate. It
can also help struggling new single mothers get by without having to give their children up for
adoption or whatnot. This can lead to big changes in a familys life, and can help the U.S. step
forward to a better and brighter future. Thats why the U.S. government should make an
amendment, called the Money for Mothers Act, to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
that will allow funding for paid maternity leave for all of the employed women of this country.

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Works Cited
BOOKS
Council of Economic Advisers. Nine Facts About American Families and Work.
Washington D.C.: Council of Economic Advisers, 2014. Print.
Hammen, Constance. Depression Runs in Families: The Social Context of Risk and
Resilience in Children of Depressed Mothers. Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. Print.
Johnson, Julia Overturf, and Downs Barbara. Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns:
1961-2000. Washington D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005. Print.
WEBSITES
Australian Human Rights Commission. "A Time to Value - Proposal for a National Paid
Maternity Leave Scheme." A Time to Value - Part C. Australian Human Rights Commission,
2002. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/time-value-part-c>.
Hall, Abigail R. "Mandated Paid Maternity Leave: A Bad Idea For Women." Mandated
Paid Maternity Leave: A Bad Idea For Women. The Daily Caller, 16 June 2015. Web. 31 Oct.
2015. <http://dailycaller.com/2015/06/16/mandated-paid-maternity-leave-a-bad-idea-forwomen/>.
Kirby, Jacqueline, M.S. "Single-parent Families in Poverty." Single-parent Families in
Poverty. The Ohio State University, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.
<http://www3.uakron.edu/schulze/401/readings/singleparfam.htm>.

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Lino, Mark. "Income and Spending Patterns of Single-mother Families." Monthly Labor
Review(1994): 29-37. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 16
Oct. 2015. <http://www.bls.gov/mlr/1994/05/art5full.pdf>.
Wallace, Kelly. A Year of Paid Parental Leave: Vital but How Likely? CNN, 10 Aug.
2015. Web. 31 Oct. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/10/health/paid-parental-leave/>.
PERIODICALS
Aber, J. Lawrence, Neil G. Bennett, Dalton C. Conley, and Jiali Li. "THE EFFECTS OF
POVERTY ON CHILD HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT." Annu. Rev. Public Health (1997):
463-83. Sociology | New York University. New York University. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
<http://sociology.as.nyu.edu/docs/IO/41018/res_Annual_Review_aber_etal.pdf>
Hajizadeh, M., J. Heymann, E. Strumpf, S. Harper, and A. Nandi. "Paid Maternity Leave
and Childhood Vaccination Uptake: Longitudinal Evidence from 20 Low-and-middle-income
Countries." PubMed. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 11 July
2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26210658>.
Pulsus Group. "Depression in Pregnant Women and Mothers: How Children Are
Affected." Depression in Pregnant Women and Mothers: How Children Are Affected (2004):
584-86. Print.
Smith, Kristin, and Nicholas Adams. "Child Care Subsidies Critical for Low-Income
Families Amid Rising Child Care Expenses." Carsey Institute 20 (2013): n. pag. University of
New Hampshire Scholar's Repository. University of New Hampshire, Spring 2013. Web. 18 Oct.
2015. <http://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1194&amp;context=carsey>.

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The Council of Economic Advisers. The Economics of Paid and Unpaid Leave. Rep.
Executive Office of the President of the United States, June 2014. PDF File. 23 Sept. 2015.
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/leave_report_final.pdf>.