Should Mothers get Paid Maternity Leave – Yes
I have never given birth, I have been pregnant, but I lost my baby. I do not know what it feels like to be so far along you can't reach over your own belly. I do not know what morning sickness feels like because I was lucky enough to not experience it. I do not know how hard it is to give birth, or how hard it is to have to go back to work after doing so. What I do know is that I can imagine the difficulty in those things. Pregnant women often don't get maternity leave until they need it, it's not like all pregnant women just stop working the second they become pregnant. Many pregnant women keep doing whatever it is they do until they reach a point where they just cannot do it anymore. Knowing that some jobs are harder than others, more stressful than others, require more physical labor than others, makes it easier to see why mothers deserve at least some paid maternity leave. It is healthier for both mommy and baby to have that time off.
I've seen many arguments against paid maternity leave ranging from 'depending on the job a pregnant woman can work just as well as anyone else' to 'women want equal treatment in the workplace so they shouldn't ask for special favors like paid maternity leave'. These two arguments are a large part of why I jumped on the 'Yes' wagon. These arguments are logical fallacies in and of themselves and don't actually make much sense in a real world setting. Pregnant women cannot work just as well as anyone else after a certain term in their pregnancy and asking for paid maternity leave is not asking for special favors in the least.
While it is true that depending on the job a mother often can work just as well as anyone else, a pregnant mom-to-be has all kinds of differences in her body that the average human does not...including the average woman. Pregnancy brings with it a whole slew of discomforts, an amazing array of hormonal changes, and the dreaded nausea and sickness. Some pregnant women can't help throwing up, and it isn't always in the morning. These things should not be forgotten just because she is capable of her job. She may not be as comfortable doing it while she is pregnant, that doesn't mean she cannot do it, it just means she shouldn't. She may or may not stress herself out and cause harm to her unborn child, even if the job is supposedly simple. There are many reasons pregnant women shouldn't work as well as everyone else, even if they can. Their health and the health of their baby should be more important to everyone, including the people they work with. A pregnant woman is still a valuable employee and her health and happiness is valuable to the company she works for, no matter her occupation.
Without mothers, most of us simply would not exist. Some mothers make the conscience choice to become mothers, they try to get pregnant. Some mothers do not make that choice though. In today's society, abortion is frowned upon and many people don't believe in it anyway. How is fair to tell a woman that if she accidentally got pregnant, she has no right to ask for paid maternity leave? That might not be a huge deal if she wants to keep the baby, but if she doesn't believe in abortion and wants to give the baby up for adoption, not having that paid leave could hit quite hard financially speaking. How about paid sick days? A lot of people get them. I realize maternity leave is longer than the total length of allotted sick days in most cases, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't get any paid maternity leave. If a woman is only left with the choices of taking time off work without pay or terminating the pregnancy...it becomes an emotionally tumultuous experience. A woman shouldn't have to worry about not having money (or a job) just because she doesn't want an abortion, nor should she have to choose sacrificing her morals or risking the harsh judgments of others.
Really thinking about it, one can see that requesting or requiring paid maternity leave is not really asking for special treatment. Women should get equal pay in the workplace, women should be treated fairly...but women are not actually equal to men. There are differences between the genders that cannot be ignored that makes us very unequal in many terms. Men cannot, by nature, get pregnant. If a man could get pregnant, would he not ask for paid maternity leave? People get paid leave for many reasons: paid vacation, paid sick days, a death in the family requiring time off work. Many people get paid leave in many circumstances depending on their job and the position they hold, and depending on how much they work and how much they make regularly. Women, by nature, get pregnant. It is how humans further their species, just like any animal in the animal kingdom. If a person can get paid vacation time (yes, I realize it is something they earn by working) or if a person can have paid sick days that don't detract from their paid vacation time...why should women NOT get paid maternity leave? I should think her hard work up until her pregnancy would have earned her that paid leave, just like people earn their paid vacations.
Women work in this day and age, some women are single, some women have husbands who pass away, some women are the ones who bring home the bacon for the whole family. If those women get pregnant, not having paid maternity leave could financially destroy their lives. Most of us agree that children are important, part of paid maternity leave is for the sake of the unborn child. Just because a woman may have chosen to become pregnant, just because she may have chosen to have a family, does not mean we should devalue her CHILD by saying she doesn't deserve paid leave. That child could be someone that changes the world for the better, and with all the money that gets thrown around and wasted on nonsense in this world...why shouldn't we put some of it towards the health of that mother and child. It is stressful for some women who have to stop working while pregnant knowing they won't be getting any money. It is stressful because that child is going to cost money, and that woman will not have much if she didn't get paid leave. Especially not if she is the sole provider. Paid maternity leave helps, and to say someone shouldn't get it because they made the choice to follow their instinctual programming to continue the species seems callous and a little unfair.
A pregnant woman has doctors appointments she must go to, nutritious food she has to buy, baby books, outside help and resources that cost money. These expenses are all on top of regular life expenses. These things also cannot be accomplished from the work place. In order to take care of herself, a pregnant woman needs time off work...but she still needs the money she would have been making from working. Paid leave doesn't give anyone more money than they already earned, it gives them the same amount or less in some cases. Those extra expenses are already going to be hard enough without having to worry about taking time off work without getting any money at all.
I do think that depending on the job and situation, the amount of paid leave should fluctuate. I do not feel all pregnant women should get paid the same amount for the same length of time. Individual circumstances should determine the length of leave and amount of pay, but there should be at least some paid leave. Obviously a woman should be allowed to take time off work even if she isn't getting paid for it, and she shouldn't have to worry about being fired either. In some cases, some women quit, or they just cannot keep the job for whatever reason. In some cases paid leave may not be feasible. Perhaps a woman has to use her paid vacation and sick days as maternity leave. These things can be figured out depending on the job itself, but in pretty much all cases mothers should get at least some paid maternity leave unless they choose otherwise.
In the end, there are many more good arguments for giving mothers paid maternity leave as opposed to just telling them "Sorry, you're the one that wanted a family."
