US Among 4 Nations with the WORST Maternity Leave

Now this one really makes my water break! I recently found out that out of 168 industrialized nations, the United States is 1 of 4 countries that does not provide paid leave (nationally) for mothers and fathers; the other stingy countries being Lesotho, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland.

Has anyone ever been to Lesotho? Well, I lived there, and trust me, the average American would NOT want to live like they do. So why doesn't the US get with it?

It's kind of ironic how our government is so backward in this respect. The US is pushing anti-abortion propaganda and "breast feed-or-else" jargon to mothers and fathers-to-be, yet they have forgotten to mandate a law that takes the financial worry of having a child by requiring all employers to 1) ensure that moms and dads will still have a job to come back to and 2) provide a mandatory paid leave percentage. So, basically what the US is saying, "make sure to have those babies, folks, but leave us alone once you give birth! We won't help you."

How are mothers supposed to jump on this "breast feed-or-else" bandwagon if they can't take the time off from work? Do employers realize how hard it is to live off of one income with the expenses of a newborn? It's almost impossible for the average american (or worse for those that are single mothers). Maybe if the US made birth control more readily available and cheaper for women, there would be less unwanted pregnancies and then we'd be able to give those mothers who plan their families the time they need.

I found that the best place for paid maternity leave is the UK, where moms and dads receive up to 80% of their salary for 6 months - 3 years (In France). WOW!! America's plan, if you are lucky enough to live in a state with a maternity leave policy, grants 6 weeks of UNPAID leave. Six weeks? It takes a woman's body over 3 months to heal after a vaginal birth... longer if it was a C-section (which is a MAJOR surgery, by the way).

So, it look's like I'm giving birth in France, folks. They did something right for a change!