So just who is minding the baby?

The prime minister of New Zealand has just gone on maternity leave, and something about that warms and calms me.
Jacinda Ardern, at age 37 the youngest female government head in the world, has a team in place who will help her do her job. But no doubt the time she will take to allow her body to recover from the rigours of pregnancy and labour and delivery, and for her infant to find her rhythm in a world outside her mother’s body, won’t be adequate.
And sadly that is the reality for many new mothers. The rules of maternity leave vary greatly from country to country and many governments show very little concern for the health of women and of families within their jurisdictions.
The Huffington Post reported in an article in 2015 that the United States, with its 12 weeks of unpaid leave for new mothers, is the lowest among industrialized nations.
The same report went on to say that the time spent with his/her mother can “impact the rest of a child’s life” and “with longer periods of paid leave, children were breastfed longer and life expectancy was higher.”
Seems a simple win-win strategy to me.
In 2016, the Business Insider reported on the top 10 countries as to maternity leave strategies and Canada did not make the list. Finland topped that particular list with benefits that allow both parents to have time to care for their child, with a great deal of flexibility in terms of allowed leave.
CNN reported in January of this year the top countries in terms of paid parental leave and Bulgaria was the winner, with the rest of the field being European countries.
At the bottom of all lists compiled as to maternity leave benefits, the U.S. was the “winner” at always being at the bottom of the heap.
We seem to put so little value in ensuring the family is a healthy, viable safe place for children to grow and develop. And yet we scratch our heads when children struggle to thrive.
It is a time-honoured tradition in Finland to support the family. “More support helps build better parents and stronger families.” Maternity packages are offered to the employed, self-employed, unemployed, students, and families with same-sex parents.
There has been abundant research done to show the benefits of paid parental leave “for parents, children, society, and companies, too,” according to Business Insider.
The University of North Carolina studied Europe’s policies regarding leave after baby is born and that paid leave “substantially reduces infant mortality rates and betters a child’s overall health.” Other research determined paid maternity leave provided children with “higher education, IQ, and income levels in adulthood.”
The prime minister of New Zealand’s maternity leave has shone the light on the strategies of New Zealand in terms of time allowed to parent and that can only benefit everyone, with many governments taking a hard look at their own policies.
Albert Einstein once said, “Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life.”
wendistewart@live.ca