A Mom Shared Why She Doesn’t Think 12 Weeks Is Long Enough for Maternity Leave
A mom named Rachel Larson shared a lengthy post on LinkedIn where she talked about why she doesn’t believe that 12 weeks of maternity leave is long enough.
Larson posted a photo of herself when she was visibly upset to convey how much this issue means to her.
![A Mom Shared Why She Doesn’t Think 12 Weeks Is Long Enough for Maternity Leave Screen Shot 2022 04 21 at 3.11.11 PM A Mom Shared Why She Doesn’t Think 12 Weeks Is Long Enough for Maternity Leave](https://twistedsifter.com/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load-0.7/images/1x1.trans.gif)
Photo Credit: LinkedIn
Larson, who works at a Salt Lake City education company, went into a lot of detail about how she wasn’t ready to go back to work after her daughter was born but she had to suck it up and get back at it.
Larson also said that she realized she is a privileged person but that she still was not ready to return to the workforce.
![A Mom Shared Why She Doesn’t Think 12 Weeks Is Long Enough for Maternity Leave Screen Shot 2022 04 19 at 11.53.21 AM A Mom Shared Why She Doesn’t Think 12 Weeks Is Long Enough for Maternity Leave](https://twistedsifter.com/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load-0.7/images/1x1.trans.gif)
Photo Credit: LinkedIn
The reality? Maternity leave in the United States is an absolute joke and the country lags behind other countries by an average of 17 weeks.
Here’s a map from the New York Times to demonstrate the disparity, along with this statement:
“The U.S. is one of seven countries without national paid maternity leave. (Some of those nations, small islands in the western Pacific, are too small to be seen on this map.) The average length for those that have the leave is 29 weeks.”
![A Mom Shared Why She Doesn’t Think 12 Weeks Is Long Enough for Maternity Leave Screen Shot 2022 04 21 at 2.50.50 PM A Mom Shared Why She Doesn’t Think 12 Weeks Is Long Enough for Maternity Leave](https://twistedsifter.com/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load-0.7/images/1x1.trans.gif)
Photo Credit: New York Times
Larson added that parents and families deserve more support and that it took her a long time to get the courage to share her story.
![A Mom Shared Why She Doesn’t Think 12 Weeks Is Long Enough for Maternity Leave Screen Shot 2022 04 19 at 11.53.58 AM A Mom Shared Why She Doesn’t Think 12 Weeks Is Long Enough for Maternity Leave](https://twistedsifter.com/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load-0.7/images/1x1.trans.gif)
Photo Credit: LinkedIn
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