When moms are getting ready to have a baby, one of the things they plan their life around is how long they get for maternity leave.
Expectant mother @valerieoresko is working at nine months’ pregnant and created a video on the topic.
She announced on the platform that she’ll be staying at work until she gives birth.
Literally.
“I get 12 weeks’ unpaid maternity leave, babe,” she says with a tone of anger and snark in her voice.
“I’m going to be here until this baby’s coming out.”
We see that she’s so pregnant she has to reach for her keyboard, so it doesn’t seem like she’s bluffing.
Valerie lives in the U.S., a country that lags way behind other western countries’ maternity leave regulations, so it’s no wonder her video has gone viral.
She made the post at work and does not say how long she intends to stay at this workplace or give hints about who her employer is.
“I’m going to be here until my contractions are 3-1-1 (which means labor contractions are three minutes’ apart and the birth will happen very soon.)”
I appreciate OP raising awareness about this topic as many don’t know about it.
My heart goes out to women of childbearing age in the U.S. This is such a hard situation.
Here is the full clip.
@valerieoresko My birth plan is to deliver my baby in my office so i get paid 🙃 #pregnant #pregnantlife #maternityleave
The U.S.’s lax maternity leave regulations are a widely debated topic. Many people in the comments had their own stories to share.
This person knew a coworker in a similar situation and had a sense of humor about it.
This person joked that she would leave mid-birth.
These people shared more humane policies in their own countries.
This person raises an excellent point. Usually the discussion I see about it is from mothers, not politicians.
This person spins the classic “We’re a family!” red flag about a toxic workplace on its head.
Remind me to send a care package to U.S. friends who are having babies…
Now that you’ve read that story, check out this one about a delivery driver who took a $400 grocery order back because she wasn’t given a tip.