Maternity Leave for every one – Yes
It should be a universal right for any mother to be with the child all the time the first three months or more of the child's life!
We are living in a modern and globalized World. Or at least that is what we normally say we are. And as maternity leave is becoming a universally recognized right for women all over the World then it would be a step back to begin to differentiate between women of certain occupations.
Maternity leave is not just a good for the mother and child. It is a good for the entire society. All the time spend with the child in the first months is paid back in full as the child will become healthier due to the opportunity for the mother to breast feed for a longer time. And it is a proven fact that breast feeding prevents multiple illnesses and disorders. Or at least lowers the possibility of the child to catch different diseases and to become allergic to different things. Of course this depends on the mother breast feeding but if so there will be less medical problems with the child later on. And so society will have a healthy new citizen.
If we turn to the mother then the time she spends with the child will also be paid back in full as she will be able to focus on the child in the early stages of the childs life. And not split her energy between child and work. If she was to work right after giving birth she would not be able to focus on the job. She would be thinking about the child and she would be felling bad about leaving the child in the care of someone else. The mother would in this way become a less dedicated employee and whatever time she spends at the job will be at half the speed she is capable of.
But if she had the first couple of months or more with the child the mother as she returns to work would be a fully dedicated employee filled with the energy you get from having a child that is healthy and who knows the mother is there for the child.
Some of these thoughts has its inspiration from the systems in many European countries. I know that in Denmark there is one years leave. And the parents can split this between them. Some of the time is paid by the employer and some of the time is paid by the governement. And this is based on the thought that the state benefits from healthy and happy citizens. And also the employers agree that happy employees work harder and better.
And that is why I think any mother no matter what kind of job should get a paid maternity leave for at least three months.
