When new parents bring a baby into their family, it can be a transformative time filled with new challenges and adjustments. But what they shouldn’t have to think about is how much time they can afford to take off before returning to work.
Yet for the majority of working parents, this is a top concern, and one they’re often on their own to figure out. The U.S. does not have a federal family leave policy, leaving employees to cobble together their time off using a workplace policy, disability time, or state leave programs. This combination typically pays only a percentage of a worker’s total income. While UNICEF recommends new parents are given 24 weeks of time off after birth, or around six months, the average new mother takes just 29 days.
