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.
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When a partner is able to take leave as well, the physical and mental health benefits to them, as well as the main caregiver and child, are evident. Studies suggest that paternity leave has important impacts on the quality of child-father relationships as well as on the relationship of the parents. According to a McKinsey report on parental leave, men who took paternity leave viewed it positively, with 100% reporting they were glad they took the time off and would do so again, and 90% reporting an improvement in their relationship with their partner. Other studies show the burden of household chores and childcare is more evenly distributed and parental bonds are strengthened when both caregivers take leave. Even short periods of paternity leave were found to be associated with a decreased risk of divorce for several years. Paternity leave can also help reduce the gender wage gap, with one study that looked at over 9,000 families finding that for each month the father was on parental leave, the mothers' incomes rose by about seven percent. Fathers' parental leave has also been shown to impact future family decisions about childcare and household responsibilities, with fathers' leave-taking associated with a more equitable distribution between partners. When fathers take less leave than mothers, or no leave at all, it can contribute to the establishment of women ultimately becoming primary caregivers, which has been shown to negatively impact their career earnings potential.
Paid parental leave is also beneficial to the baby, as it is associated with lower infant mortality rates, decreased prevalence of low birth weight infants and pre-term births, and higher rates of vaccination. It also helps to solidify the bond between parent and child, which is critical for the development of healthy cognitive, behavioral and socioemotional skills. When a baby is born and requires special medical attention, parents are often left with the heartbreaking choice of taking time off immediately to spend time with the baby while in the NICU, or delaying their leave until their baby is able to come home. When parents have adequate time off to navigate unexpected situations, outcomes for both are improved.
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While the research is clear on the benefits of paid parental leave for the physical, mental and financial health of families, the United States lacks a national paid parental leave policy, with only a handful of states offering leave policies at the local level.
With the lack of national paid parental leave, employers play an outsized role in supporting new parents. And they stand to benefit as well. New parents who are well-supported at work are often more loyal to their organizations and are more productive employees. The McKinsey report also found that fathers who took leave were more motivated and productive upon returning to work and were more likely to stay at their organizations longer. Other research supports these findings of higher employee retention and engagement for organizations that offer parental benefits, as well as improved employee morale and work-life balance. In an effort to better support parents during the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies even expanded their benefit offerings.
Yet, as we've returned to pre-pandemic norms, some companies have walked back their benefit offerings. As a company whose core purpose is to make people healthier, Vitality is taking a different stance, and this year has expanded its parental leave policy to allow primary and secondary caregivers additional, fully-paid time off. And while research shows that many workers don't take the full leave they are eligible for due to stigma, unfavorable workplace culture, or fear of career setbacks, our organization actively encourages employees who welcome a new child through birth, adoption, foster, surrogacy, or legal guardianship to take their full leave.
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It's often noted that it takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to support new parents. Employers and their parental leave policies are a huge part of that village. I'm extremely grateful to my employer for their leave policy, as well as my teammates and team leadership who took on my workload while I was out on leave. They did so without complaint, were patient as I navigated my return to work as a new mother and continue to ask for my daughter to make a cameo appearance on our video calls. All new parents deserve this support, and other employers should consider the far-reaching value of providing these types of benefits.
