Kaitlyn Prentiss started planning for her maternity leave before she even conceived.
As a licensed massage therapist and independent contractor in Hawaii, she wasn't eligible for paid leave from an employer, her state or the federal government. Before she became pregnant with her son, Evan, who's turning 1 this month, she started putting money aside to ensure she had enough to pay three months of bills.
Her husband didn't have paid family leave either, which meant that Kaitlyn was frequently home by herself when Evan was born, caring for an infant who was just days old. Her mental health took a toll. Every day, the fact that she had a little less money in that safety net fund weighed on her. She struggled with anxiety, which she says directly stemmed from the lack of financial stability she felt during this time. She worried about the hospital bills she might have to pay and whether she'd need to go back to work early and find child care for Evan.
"I wonder what it would have been like to be less stressed about money, then I would have been able to settle into my new role in motherhood, and maybe not have as much anxiety," she says. "It's sad to look back and think of how unsupported I was by my own government."
Hawaii is one of 37 states that doesn't offer paid parental leave,[1] and the federal government doesn't guarantee it either. The United States is one of only six countries in the world to not have a national paid parental leave law in place.[2]
Most U.S. workers also don't get paid parental leave through their employers; just 27% of private sector workers have access to it, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.[3] There's also a stark divide along income levels, with only 14% of workers in the bottom 25% wage category getting paid leave, as compared to 48% of workers in the top 10% wage category.[4]
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Private short-term disability insurance can help some moms take parental leave, but you have to sign up before becoming pregnant. Many people, like Kaitlyn, don't learn about this option in time in order to qualify.
Women and workers of color are disproportionately unable to access paid leave and this feeds into the country's maternal health crisis, says Jessica Mason, senior policy analyst at the National Partnership for Women and Families.
"The same folks who are more likely to have a dangerous birth experience and less likely to have resources to deal with that are also less likely to have adequate time to recover," she says.
Despite how rare paid family leave is in the U.S., there are a number of health benefits when a new mother takes time off to care for and bond with her child. Paid leave provides mothers with the time they need to recover physically from labor and delivery, Mason says.
"Those are things that are not only difficult but sometimes dangerous to do if you're still recovering from a C-section or haven't physically recovered," she says, but there are other health benefits linked to leave, too.
Health benefits of paid parental leave
Lower risk of postpartum depression
A 2023 review of 23 studies on leave and depression linked paid and longer maternity leaves with a reduction of postpartum depression symptoms. One study cited in the review found that mothers who went back to work after at least 12 weeks off were less likely to experience a major depressive disorder.
This may explain why less privileged women (who are less likely to have long maternity leaves) are more likely to suffer from postpartum depression, the review states.
Less maternal stress
The financial stress and anxiety Prentiss felt after giving birth shouldn't come as a surprise. When a mother doesn't have to worry about unpaid bills or losing a job, there's evidence that her stress levels go down, says Mason.
One study found moms who had paid leave had lower cortisol concentrations in their hair. Cortisol is a hormone produced in response to stress, indicating that moms with paid leave were less stressed, says Natalie Brito, Ph.D., an associate professor of applied psychology at New York University who contributed to the research.
More sleep
Another way paid leave can benefit a mom's physical health is that it allows her to adjust to the changing rhythms of life, Mason explains. This is crucial when considering how little sleep new parents often get.
One study found that workers who take any type of leave, including parental leave or sick leave, report better quality sleep. Another study on New York's paid family leave program showed that it helped some parents get more sleep and exercise each day. Other research has suggested that improved sleep alleviates postpartum depression.
More preventative care and a reduced risk of complications
Paid leave may help moms attend postpartum appointments, suggests Natasha Williams, Ed.D., M.P.H., an associate professor in population health at NYU Langone. One study linked shorter leaves with an increased risk of not attending these appointments. These essential doctor visits look for potential postpartum complications and could reduce the risk of maternal morbidity.
"Using the health care system regularly and at the right time during pregnancy, as well as getting the right care after giving birth, may prevent adverse effects from getting worse," explains Williams.
Another study found that mothers who took paid leave were 51% less likely to be rehospitalized. The same study also found that these mothers were more likely to exercise regularly.
Increased breastfeeding rates
Paid leave programs in states that provide them have been shown to increase rates and duration of breastfeeding, Mason says. One study of California's paid family leave policy found even more pronounced improvements in breastfeeding rates for low-income mothers and mothers with less education.
Breastfeeding is linked to better health outcomes for both new moms and babies. Some of the benefits of breastfeeding include improved postpartum recovery and lower risks of some cancers, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
A safer home environment
Paid leave is also linked with a decrease in intimate partner violence, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). "It seems very likely that the stress reduction of both interpersonal and financial stress that paid leave provides makes for a safer and calmer home environment," Mason explains.
How to support paid parental leave
"Even in the best of circumstances, pregnancy, birth and early infant care are experiences that upend a new parent's life," says Mason. "Nobody should have to face the prospect of going months without income or even losing their job and their health insurance on top of those typical new parent stresses."
Consider advocating for the implementation of a federal or state paid parental leave policy. You can do so by contacting your Congressional representative and your state's two senators. Ask them to support bills providing paid family and medical leave — like the Promoting Equitable Access to Paid Family Leave Act in the House and FAMILY Act in the Senate. You can find the name and contact information for your representatives on Congress.gov.
"The silver lining of our national paid leave crisis is it is a very solvable problem," Mason says. "Everybody — voters, people in our communities — all understand that this is a really important issue, and legislators are listening. There's a lot of potential, I think, to finally solve this issue in the next couple of years."
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