Adjusting to life with a newborn is no small feat. After giving birth, your body is recovering, your hormones are taking you on an emotional rollercoaster, you’re sleep deprived and overwhelmed with figuring out how to take care of a tiny human. A new parent’s expectation rarely aligns with reality and those early weeks can be a blur! As a new parent I was told, “Your only job right now is to take care of the baby, yourself and your family.” And I needed every minute of the time away from work I was given to do just this.
The extensive benefits of paid parental leave are well documented, and I was fortunate to have been able to take advantage of my employer’s offerings. Research shows that new parents fare better when they have paid time off after birth, and mothers experience a decreased risk of rehospitalization and postpartum depression immediately after birth and even years later. Mothers with access to more paid leave are also more likely to breastfeed, which has several health benefits, including boosted immunity and brain development for the baby and a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer for the mother. The early weeks are critical for establishing milk supply and the breastfeeding relationship, and can also enhance parent-child attachment, which has been shown to be a powerful predictor of a child’s social and emotional growth.
