2004 Maternity leave madness

This was my maternity leave in 2004. My son is turning 18 in a few weeks and look how much has changed in corporate America!

👎 1 week paid leave at partial pay (40%) and must be employed 1 year

👎 5 days sick leave for the year (had to use for maternity leave)

👎 2 weeks paid vacation (had to use for maternity leave)

👎 unpaid FMLA

He was born at 34 weeks and in the NICU. Due to complications, I couldn't see him down the hall for the first 3 days. It was devastating.

I went back to work when he was only 6 weeks old and had only been home for 4 weeks, because I had to, financially. I was in traveling sales, driving around two states.

I stayed for another year.

Until I was pregnant with my daughter.

I resigned. Even though I couldn't afford to.

There are so many things parents need time to recover from and adjust to when they add a child to their family whether by birth or adoption.

👏👏 I am so pleased to read stories in my feed where company's are supporting maternity and paternity leave. These cultural changes in the US mean my children will have it better than I did when they become parents.

And that's all we can really ask for in life. To make the world better for the next generation and generations to come. 🤗