OBGYN Explains Maternity & Parental Leave in America

Do I get maternity leave in America?
0:00 Welcome
0:27 Intro & Terminology
0:19 Paid Leave in America (vs other countries)
2:54 FMLA
4:50 State & Local Paid Leave
5:14 Short Term Disability
7:26 Employer Specific Benefits & Leaves
8:17 Making your own leave with PTO/vacation/sick leave
8:51 Why Paid Leave Matters
10:55 How YOU can prepare for maternity leave
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**Video is for educational purposes only and should not be used as personal medical advice. Please discuss anything related to your own health, diagnosis, and treatment with your own medical provider as information in this video may not pertain to your individual and specific situation. **
Resources and Links:
www.acog.org/clinical-informa....
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank...
www.dol.gov/general/topic/ben....
www.kff.org/womens-health-pol...
www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS...
www.nytimes.com/article/askin...
www.nationalpartnership.org/o...

[@snicklefritz2358]

Im watching this crying it is so sad!!!! I don't know why we all dont get together an say this is WRONG!!!!!

[@lindseythompson9425]

(USA) My husband works in the pharmaceutical industry and gets 12 weeks paid parental leave + 2 weeks family care leave. We realize we are in a privileged minority right now, but definitely want to see it change. Every parent deserves the chance to be home and bond with their child as well as share in the responsibilities of caring for them. And every birthing parent deserves the time to heal without rushing back to work.

[@katie5712]

I had 12 weeks off with each pregnancy (FMLA) because my husband and I both work for the same company (a large health care company) if he took FMLA which he could have it would have been taken from my 12 weeks so we chose for him to use PTO for two weeks. I got Short Term Disability for 6 weeks at 60% of my pay and then used my whole PTO bank to supplement pay for the remaining time. If my husband and I had worked for different companies he could have used FMLA and had more time off. The US system is so broken.

[@Isond-ox3ye]

How sad! Here in Norway you get a year of paid maternal leave, regardless of where you work.

[@snicklefritz2358]

It's so fucked here in the US I don't know how it's not a crime ! They do us so dirty here it's crazy!

[@Naked_AlienDanceParty]

Must be nice lol

[@debrajill6057]

My company provides short term disability and 10 weeks parental bonding leave fully paid. I was therefore paid for 16 weeks plus I live in California so I chose to take two more weeks unpaid and was fortunate to be able to do that. I feel so so incredibly fortunate they offer it. I’m in recruiting and discuss this benefit with potential hires and I can tell it has an impact on many, even if they’re not planning to become parents or are done having kids.

[@jessicatalavera7275]

I live in Washington state. When I had my son in 2019, there was no paid leave from the state so I was able to take 3.5 months with all my pto/sick time. I worked overtime during my pregnancy and no vacation the year prior to accumulate the max amount before being capped. My husband wasn't able to take any time off with his employer. So that postpartum journey was hard. And I had bad PPD. This time in 2022, I am receiving paid leave from the state, then using my pto. Then I decided on unpaid leave to have 6 months off. My husband is also able to take 12 weeks. He took 7 weeks to help in the newborn period. I feel so much better knowing we can plan more time together, and I feel very supported this time around. Paid parental leave should be a must for every family.

[@nicolekeeling8968]

I live in AZ and am an NP with a large private OBGYN office. I elected a short term disability policy, but otherwise receive no paid leave. I took my full 12 weeks under FMLA but only received five weeks of partial pay thanks to the disability. My partner who works in tech received two weeks paid.

[@Lacilove1991]

I live in Washington state which they offer a paid leave through the state for 12 weeks. I applied for short term disability too. I had HG with my son so I am preparing for my next pregnancy and having all this back up plans. Our system is so broken. My cousins in canada got a whole year off with full pay

[@saraadams2005]

We are offered 18 months here in Canada. My first mat leave I went back part time after a year because after a year of lockdown I needed to see adults. This time the world is open so I'll probably take closer to 15 months so I can go back with enough time to earn the 600hrs needed to get another mat leave for a third. The third I want 18 months and would love a spring baby to get 2 summers off !

[@tracy3418]

I got 8 weeks with short term disability for my first. I told my employer of my current pregnancy and they fired me for it. They didn't want to deal with 12 week FMLA this go around.

[@shellyd6824]

I'm an optometrist at a small private practice with zero paid leave. I looked into short term disability before ever getting pregnant, however in Texas you can't purchase it individually only through a group(i.e. employer) so that was not an option for me either. I've had 2 children and took 12 weeks off unpaid, which I'm very privileged to be able to do thanks to my husband working/saving up ahead of time. However it's put us way back on being able to pay off my students loans as quickly as I'd hoped (this year will be 10 yrs since I finished school). My husband was able to take 2 weeks off paid for each of our kids.

[@emilyball6672]

Im a teacher and have up to 12 weeks unpaid. Technically 6 weeks maternity and 6 weeks fmla. I used 20 of my sick days and the rest unpaid. Even though 2 of those weeks were my Christmas break and don’t count towards my salary, my 12 weeks start the day I deliver which is bs. Didn’t get to use short term disability bc it overlapped with my paid sick time. Also, because I was on leave, I don’t get the extra $1200 stipend the district approved for teachers this year or the $500 for getting a highly effective teacher rating bc I missed too many days of school and disqualify now. Again BS. My husband works for a private IT company and they gave him 1 week paid paternity. He ended up taking another 2 weeks of his own sick time.

[@Dante02000]

You guys deserve wayyy more. This is bs

[@celesegonzalez9990]

Thanks your response is what I was looking for

[@LRey85]

I moved back to the states from Germany and I got 3 years off, 2 years were paid and I only took 1 year and worked part time the next year. The US is supposedly wealthy but acting like a developing nation when it comes to parental leave

[@danidesigns2]

Back when I was working retail, the HR called me 10 days after I gave birth to my son saying I was scheduled and supposed to be at work. I also had a 2nd degree tear and was bedridden for a bit but also in pain and couldn't do too much activity even with medicine. Thankfully, I no longer work there. I worked until I was 39 weeks and gave birth the following week.

[@elishap3110]

So sorry that happened. I’m glad you left that job. I want to take a year off with my baby or quit. I don’t want to suffer when they can replace me overnight. I’d rather be home

[@danidesigns2]

@Elisha P I agree. I do work now part-time (for a better company), and thankfully, my husband makes enough and is more than ok with me working fewer hours, although he honestly prefers if I'm home, but I need to work just for now to help us out a bit. That whole 10-day maternity leave thing caused mental stress along with the mild (borderline by doctors) ppd I already had caused me to not work for a couple of years, though I enjoyed being a sahm for my son's nearly first 3 years. I don't even put the few months I reluctantly came back (before quitting) I was at the bad company on my resume I was so upset, and I usually tell people I was always a sahm before my current job.

[@bigbird6451]

Can I work during the week and use my PFL on the weekends as a man?

[@bombont3053]

My friend had been with this company for 5 months and they didn't pay her anything, they even told her that they only waited her for 1 month.

[@vivianisa2252]

That is disgusting. Definitely not working for that company.

[@BusArch42]

I had to work a ten hour day the day prior to my planned c section (39 weeks). I left work at 630 and had to be the hospital the next morning at 430 am. My work covered two weeks off prior but my drs office wouldn’t fill out the paperwork. Her nurse was too lazy. I got disability for six weeks after surgery and then unpaid leave for six more. I had to elect for disability coverage and pay for it though

[@Leydo773]

Currently 34 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I’m a postpartum nurse at one of largest hospitals for women and babies in the U.S. and we have no paid maternity leave 🫠. Just FLMA to protect my job , PTO (which I only have enough for about 5 weeks) and STD which I was told I would only get 4 weeks if I deliver vaginally and 6 for c sections. And it’s only 60% pay. 🙄 SMH.

[@reyfin4922]

Can we take the Short Term Disability paid for 6 weeks, and then 6 more weeks unpaid equalling the 3 months of FMLA?

[@BusArch42]

That’s what I did but time taken pre birth counts in that total

[@ozelot250]

My daughter who is pregnant and lives and works in Arizona is being discriminated by her employer. Her employer is a small business owner and told her that he can only give her six weeks off for maternity or birth of child. She is due in may 31, she wants to take may 12 off because it’s getting difficult physically to do her job due to her being pregnant. Her employer told her her six weeks would start whenever she starts the time off and not when she gives birth.

[@BusArch42]

Small business is exempt from FMLA

[@yeseniasantana9718]

Hi there I also live and work in Arizona and I am currently experiencing the same with my small business employer ( my employer is California based). I am finding out that my employer does not offer paid FMLA. I did reach out to my HR department about short term disability since my work is physical. I am now unable to do the majority of it. I’m in my 3rd trimester. It sounds like they do offer short term disability insurance. In which I would need to sign up and would need to pay for it.

[@BusArch42]

@@yeseniasantana9718 FMLA is never paid leave. Never has been. It only protects your job while you are out. I work for a very large employer and was not allowed off until the day I gave birth. It was very very hard to continue working at that far along. My time off was not maternity leave. It was surgery recovery for having a c section and lasted six weeks. I did have to sign up for and pay for disability insurance in order to get those six weeks. I also had to use all my leave for the year before disability kicked in. So I had not one hour of leave when I returned to work in June. The remaining time off was unpaid leave and I did get my job back after 12 weeks.

[@el_chino778]

wow no federal parental leave?? my wife and I in Canada are on paid extended 18 month parental leave, albeit at 33% of our wage after 4 months of her 85% wage

[@reyfin4922]

If the couple is not married do they have to still share the FMLA time?

[@amiaga2247]

Yes

[@loveobviously]

It’s sad for the US. in Canada we actually have 2 yrs paid mat/ parental leave a person can use all of it or not it’s your choice and you don’t have to work for a company for a year like how you guys do in the US.

[@Chillman742]

I wish I was Canadian….