To think that women without children should be able to take time off work too?

[Playfair]

Firstly I will say that I am 100% supportive of good maternity leave (and paternity / shared), and understand the importance of supporting women to maintain a career, care for children or whatever else they wish.

I also acknowledge that maintaining birth rates is critical for society. And that maternity leave is spent doing work in raising a child.

Reflecting on my company's good maternity policy (about 6 months paid) and also some other institutions that have announced paid time off for those undergoing fertility treatment, it leaves me wondering about those of us without children (by choice or otherwise).

I'm in my thirties and will never have children. I'd love to have a small amount of paid time off (in addition to usual annual leave) to do some lengthy travel for example. I can't see why we can't have access to something similar if you haven't used any maternity benefit by a certain point.

There would obviously be benefits for society & business from developing new skills, morale etc. As well as women in work contributing to economy and through taxation.

So,

YABU - Women who choose not to have children shouldn't be entitled to anything else

YANBU - Women should be able to claim a small amount of extra paid time off if they stay in a career and contribute to business and societies success

Proud of what though?

You didn’t do anything other than survive, well done?

I don’t take my bitterness out on women who can have children, in fact I’m not particularly bitter about it any more, and my point about shame was that it makes no sense to feel ashamed if you can’t have a baby, any more than it makes sense to feel proud that you can. It’s not something one has any control over.

Because you are suggesting you should get the same leave so you can go travelling... IE a holiday 🤦🏼‍♀️

People who have cancer have loads of sick leave. I don't have cancer but hey, I'd love to have some leave too !

Women who have kids get time off because they need it. Not because they fancy it.

What on earth is wrong with you

Fine. Call bullshit all you like. I know my experience.

Confused - presumably you're a woman. why are you trying to bash people for being proud of bringing up babies? You realise we have to put with such derision from men without doing it to ourselves?

How old are your children? Laughing if you've not reached the teen years yet.

Sometimes surviving is harder than it may look from the outside.

It’s really not though

would you say you’re proud of winning the lottery?

same principle.

Something being against the odds doesn’t mean you’ve had to ‘do’ anything. Having fertility treatments isn’t an achievement, no more than having your appendix out is an achievement. And I say that having had IVF. It’s not an achievement.

Well no because if everyone had the opportunity to take time off there would be no discrimination would there?
I'm not in the UK and where I live everyone can ask to take a sabbatical. The employer has to accept unless too many people are doing it at the same time and up to a few years ago there was even an allowance for it.

Who said anything about bringing up babies?

Im specifically referring to those who have said on this thread they’re proud of being able to have children and giving birth.

The last time I checked, developing cancer and having sick leave as a result wasn't a choice

A company paying for you to have a year to travel is totally different from enabling a mother to heal from pregnancy and birth, better breastfeed (if doing so), catch up on sleep and bond with their child.

YABU to think maternity leave is anything like a holiday.

And when should they get it? Which employer will have the joy of paying for this freebie?

What happens if you take your 2 lots of “paid leave” and then you get pregnant? Do you work until labour starts, or arrange to be induced at a weekend, so that you can be back at work on the Monday?

Many small employers are struggling to keep afloat at this time. Don’t you think that if they had to factor a full years paid leave for every employee, they might just go under? The employee will then luckily get a lot longer time off, but unfortunately unpaid apart from from what they can claim in benefits!

How stupid can some people be!

You win some and you lose some OP. I'm happy mothers appear to be the winners here, according to you, as they're generally a screwed over by society group.

I guess raising children contributes to building society, where as travelling or bumming around at home does not. Perhaps a paid for sabbatical for caring, charity work etc would be a good idea.

@KimberleyClark Both my births were horrific for different reasons, I nearly died with my second. I am very proud of the strength and determination I had to get through it.

Just because people are proud of their birth experience doesn't mean they are suggesting you should feel ashamed if you couldn't/can't.

Not really. I have a cat and no children.

I do get what the OP is saying, rightly or wrongly I think her best chance of paid time off work is still a sabbatical. We got ours as recognition of long service, they were fully paid.

Many employers, including my own, do have this. Our family network raised this and employees are entitled to time off for caring responsibilities regardless of who they're caring for - there's also compassionate leave and discretionary leave for various circumstances. People are also entitled to benefits if they're a full-time carer. What you're complaining about not existing quite literally does exist.

And that is triggering for you because......?

Pregnancy can be very hard on some. I am not sure why it's an issue they feel proud.

It’s not triggering

I’m merely stating it’s a bit sad to consider something you have no input into as an achievement.

Id roll my eyes if the latest lotto winner said it was an achievement to win.

Pregnancy being hard doesn’t make it an achievement.

If you understood that I was parodying the OP then how was it in bad taste?

Yes, because if she goes forward comparing it to maternity leave then you leave yourself wide open to the obvious fact that men can then jump on the bandwagon too and say well hang on a minute why can't i have that. And then in turn it's no longer comparable to maternity leave in the sense the OP is suggesting (which is that as a childless woman the company should assume she might have a kid and have the money aside so if she doesn't should still be entitled to it)

What exactly do you think we do while on maternity leave?

Getting through anything hard is an achievement.