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

OP, you could take 6months off work and become a 24hrs a day, 7 days a week nanny to a new born. I am sure someone would be willing to pay you statutory maternity pay to do it. Not sure how you would replicate the physical impact of having a baby though. You could sand paper your nipples and have a your abdomen cut open and stitched up on the day you start your new nannying job.

What if you only want two children so take three months each but then accidently get pregnant with a third? Would the mother have to go back the day after giving birth. Who would look after the baby?

@ZeldaWillTellYourFortune because it's discriminatory for a woman to be penalised in their career for having children when a man isn't. But I'm flogging a dead horse on women's equality here aren't I?

Can you cite sources for your information about other countries? thanks.

People like her, the aggressively childfree, don't care as long as they get theirs. its pathetic. They see women with kids as lesser humans

It would be if it wasn't for immigration.

That’s very unusual for a nursery to have a 9 month min age. most are from 12weeks onwards, some even before that!

Your point around enhanced leave is the same as the OPs so not sure why the disagreement

companies that offer enhanced maternity and paternity leave should offer the benefit of a set chunk of paid time off to all staff. Not just those who are parents. They should also want to retain those who need time off for any reason. Thankfully many big employers already do this, but there is a large chunk that offer enhanced parental leave but not sabbaticals.

Mat leave is to honour the right of the mother to recover from the ordeal of pregnancy and childbirth as PPs have said, but also to honour the right of the child to around-the-clock care and the undivided attention of the primary carer.

I'm childfree and I not only think you are very unreasonable, I think you are ridiculous.

I’d love a free holiday and I have DC. Don’t I get to go travelling? How would you experience the “benefit” I had on my maternity leave of sleepless nights, impaired mental health and having your career damaged by time away? What a selfish question to bring to a parenting forum.

Having children isn't lifestyle choice like living in the city vs the country or liking beach vs city breaks. Over the course of human history procreating has been an innate biological desire akin to the need for love and companionship. Does every human being on earth need friends. Of course not and that's fine. But no one would call the desire to have friends a lifestyle choice- its far more fundamental a part of the human condition than that. Similarly not everyone wants to or can have children and that's absolutely fine but trying to redefine procreation as a lifestyle choice off the back of that is absurd.

I guess they'd have to quit their job, or use credit / loans to fund their maternity leave, or go back to work and have their partner care for the child, or myriad other options.

Perhaps they could get some tips from people who have stepped away to care for sick/dying relatives without the opportunity for or right to paid leave, on how to manage the situation.

You can do what you like with the accidental baby if you just wont get paid for having time off by your employer. Maybe the state will pick up the tab, maybe the father of the child will have to support it, there’s a lot of options here but I bet that there would be a heck of a lot less accidental pregnancy’s if that was the case.

I could have not said it better myself. This post is frankly really offensive to me actually.

If you’re offended by this post you need help

It's not discriminatory unless she is somehow forced against her will to produce a child.

Move to Australia! Businesses there offer Long Service Leave for 5 years and 10 years of employment with the same company. It's literally xx months of holidays for 10 years of service (think it's 6 months of fully paid holidays for 10years). You can either take the money (taxed) or the holidays :)

Someone writing a novel gets the same amount of time off as a woman recovering from a c section?

That is a piss take.

Sweden
ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1130&intPageId=4808&langId=en#:~:text=Both%20parents%20together%20receive%20480,days%20at%20the%20minimum%20level.

Bulgaria
ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1103&langId=en&intPageId=5037#:~:text=After%20completion%20of%20the%20410,the%20amount%20is%20BGN%20650.

There are others

Maternity leave wasn't horrible I got to spend 12 months caring for a human being I love. I find work more stressful.

What a heartless cow.

You cannot expect people to deny what is a natural, normal and inbuilt to the species trait.

Some of us have no choice but to deny it. And we get by.

Two very small nations. Any other examples, in larger and more diverse economies?

Exactly this. It's so disingenuous how people try to frame it as a choice the way choosing what restaurant to eat at is a choice.

@MandalayFray the OP's argument seemed to be that her company wasn't offering her enhanced time off because she's not a parent. If they are anyway what's the issue? If companies choose to do that fair enough but not many do because - business need to retain parents as lots of people have babies and thank goodness they are still worth retaining over recruiting new people. And yes my mystery took st nine months, when I was in London it was three months but even though I was very keen to get back to work (and went back at nine months for both my kids which was considered early) three months was a stretch too far. When do you go back?

You're infertile so because that sucks for you, everyone else who wants kids should also suffer? You sound delightful.