How much are you worth?

An entire world has recently opened up to me.  Mother world. Parent world.  Baby world.  Issues I never gave more than a passing thought to now occupy the forefront of my mind, distracting me from what I'm probably supposed to be doing.  To satisfy these intellectual cravings, express my musings, and in tip-of-the-hat homage to Stephen Colbert, I'm starting another many-part "series" on this blog. Mom stuff. Woman stuff.  Family stuff.  I don't care what you call it.  Issues I'm thinking about, and perhaps you are too (or should be! haha!).

So...I ask- How much are you worth?
As a woman?  As a mother?  How much is your baby worth?  How much are you worth as a human being birthing and raising your child?
Such ridiculous questions, you say.
While here in the US we argue about debt ceilings, tax loopholes for corporations, the first lady is criticized by "mothers" on the right for suggesting breast pumps be eligible for tax exemptions- mums in Norway get 100% of their salary for 46-56 weeks of maternity leave.
Don't misunderstand, I love my job, I love school, and I love being a mother.  I'm very happy with my schedule right now which allows me to evenly balance my "day job" between all 3 of these things, and keeps me feeling quite fulfilled.  The thing is, maternity leave is not just spent on face time with your child.  Imagine more time to exclusively breastfeed and not have to pump and store (something many women find difficult to do, or employers are less than accommodating, leading to cessation of nursing early and implementation of formula- more on this topic in an upcoming post).  Time to make your own baby food and avoid processed, canned products (would YOU want to eat "meat" in a jar that doesn't have to be refrigerated? probably not).  After a day at work, throwing a frozen pizza in the oven is sometimes about all the dinner prep I can muster- so the extra minutes to make fresh baby food? Well, it's easy to see how most people don't.  Time to exercise your body, relax your mind.  All of these things are for baby, but not necessarily with baby.
Not to mention the health benefits of slowing it all down. At the rate we're going, fifty percent of Americans will be obese in the next 20 years.  My friend, Leah, has an excellent blog that contemplated this topic a few weeks ago.

But I digress (do I?).  Maternity leave.  The term originated in the 1960s.  Women were suddenly getting paid to work outside of the home, AND were still having babies.  Maternity Leave is defined by the English dictionary as "a paid absence from work to which a woman is legally entitled during the months immediately before and after childbirth."  Speaking of loopholes.....


In the United States, the payment rules are state and employer dependent- there is no national standard.  In general, I have gleaned that if you have worked at your current job full time for about 18 months, you are eligible for 12 weeks of leave, paid at a reduced percentage of your salary.


A few other examples-

In Norway, the #1 rated nation in the world for being a mother (along with Iceland and Australia), as I stated above, a mother earns her full salary during a year of maternity leave.  No stressing about paying the bills, no prioritizing mortgage above baby.  You can actually focus on your completely new life for yourself and the one that you just created.  Wow!






In Kazhakstan, a mother receives 126 days of maternity leave, with 100% of her salary paid by her employer.

In China (mainland, in capitalist Hong Kong a mother receives only 10 weeks at 80% salary paid by the employer) maternity leave is 90 days at 100% salary paid for by the government.




Afghanistan is the worst place in the world to be a mother.  One in eleven mothers die in childbirth, only 14% of births are attended by a professional, and the average life expectancy for a woman is only 45 years.  On top of that you still have to watch out for those pesky predator drones.  However, if you are lucky enough to be employed (rare as a woman), you receive 90 days leave at 100% salary paid for by your employer.  I am shocked by this statistic.

Before the argument begins, I am not saying that the quality of life is better for a Kazhak woman.  I am saying that there is a major discrepancy in the value placed on family and child-rearing around the world.

For more, check out the United Nations index of maternity leave by country.

What's the problem?  The solution?  Is there even a problem?  I spoke to a new mom yesterday at Mathilda's daycare who went back to work at 6 weeks (the youngest age an infant is accepted to most accredited daycare programs in the US) because financially she couldn't afford to take more time off.  I think that is a problem.  Who is responsible?  The government?  Your employer? 
Maybe you shouldn't have a child unless you can afford to take a year or more out of the workplace to raise the child.  That would end the cycle of poverty now, wouldn't it? 
Not to mention, the pay discrepancy between men and women often means that the cost of daycare would consume most of the woman's salary, so it makes more financial (and family) sense for her to stay home permanently, thus ending her professional career.
Would you be ok with your partner staying home? (assuming you are female and your partner is not).
I don't have the answer.  Perhaps naively, I think it is an issue worth discussing.  Ask your friends, moms and dads, what do they think?  Leave a comment, I'd love to read your opinions.