Two months ago, I gave birth to my first child, a beautiful little girl named Madelyn. When she was a week old, I was back to work. Because, as a freelancer, I didn’t get maternity leave.
Trying to meet a deadline while learning to be a new mom was exhausting. I was breastfeeding for the first time and Maddie was eating a lot, sometimes every hour, and into the wee hours of the morning. Days and weeks blurred together and trying to find time to sit down in front of my computer was nearly impossible. I had to employ every tool in my toolbox to get things done. I would edit video while wearing Maddie in the carrier. I updated a website while bouncing her in the bouncy seat with my foot. They say to sleep when the baby sleeps, but when that’s the only opportunity to get stuff done, pretty soon, I was running on fumes. And I was doing all this while also recovering from giving birth, which as many women are eager to tell you, is a quite a taxing experience!
My experience made me think of another woman that went back to work shortly after giving birth, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer. Mayer made headlines shortly after being hired at Yahoo! when she said her maternity leave “few weeks long” and that she’d “work throughout it.” Mayer also built a nursery in her office, in order to bring her son to work with her. Few women have that luxury.
Maternity leave is a beautiful time to get to know a new life, but it’s also tiring and stressful taking care of a newborn baby. Add anxiety about finances and job security and you’ll get a close approximation of the reality of maternity leave.
The Gaps in FMLA
The Family and Medical Leave Act allows covered employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the birth of a child. Much has been written about the fact that the United States is one of only four countries that does not mandate paid maternity leave, but frequently left out of the discussion is the fact that many women don’t fall under FMLA protection at all. According the experts cited by the New York Times, as many as 40% of employees are not covered by FMLA.
I asked other moms on Facebook about their experiences with maternity leave. The feedback was disheartening. As a part-time employee, Alli wasn’t covered under FMLA and was only given six weeks of unpaid leave by her company. Had she taken any more time, her job would not have been secure. Karissa wasn’t protected by FMLA because she had only been with her employer for eight months before she took time off. And Natalie’s company was too small to fall under the FMLA mandate. She was only able to take six weeks, two of which were her accumulated paid time off. Of those that were covered under FMLA, few were paid during their leave and those that were only received a portion of their wages, qualified for short-term disability or used their paid time off.
Other moms I’ve encountered didn’t get maternity leave at all, either because their employer wouldn’t give them the time off or because they just can’t afford not to work.
Helping Women After the Birth of a Child
In 2002, California passed the Paid Family Leave Act, which pays approximately 55% of an employee’s usual compensation for six weeks following the birth of a child. New Jersey, Washington and the District of Columbia have also passed laws for paid family leave, though Washington’s law has yet to go into effect and DC’s law only covers eligible employees.
An exit poll by the National Partnership for Women and Families during the 2012 presidential election found that 86% of voters felt it was somewhat or very important that President Obama and Congress consider laws for paid family leave and sick days. However, there has been little movement on the issue thus far.
As more and more of our workforce moves away from full-time positions into freelance, contract, temporary or part-time jobs, fewer women will be protected by FMLA. And in uncertain economic times like these, women may have to choose between their job and their desire to start a family. A new baby is nerve wracking enough. Women shouldn’t have to worry about whether their job will be waiting for them on the other end.
