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Paid Leave

Time for parents to bond with and care for their babies.

America’s future needs paid family and medical leave.

The time right after a baby is born or adopted is a time of extraordinary growth, development, and connection for a family. Parents and their babies need dedicated time together to develop close, nurturing relationships that set the foundation for a child’s healthy development. They also need time to care for their child or other family members during serious illness.

When parents have a new baby, unhurried time helps them become attuned to the marvelous development occurring in that tiny, but demanding infant. These positive, consistent relationships during babies’ earliest days, weeks, and months result in children who are better equipped for success in school and in life. Paid family leave is also associated with better rates and length of breastfeeding, higher rates of immunizations and participation in well-child checks, and improved opportunity for mothers’ recovery and parental adjustment.

Twenty-five years ago, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) took effect. Since then, it’s been used more than 200 million times by people who were able to take time off from work to welcome a new baby, care for a seriously ill child or loved one, or to address their own serious health conditions — without fear of losing their jobs or health insurance coverage. But more than two decades later, it currently only serves 40 percent of the workforce.

Paid leave is a must have for babies and toddlers.  Learn More.

 

Take Action

Ensure paid family and medical leave is a top priority this Congress by contacting your policymakers now.

 

Get Involved

THE FACTS

When parents can take care of their child's early medical needs and preventative care, infant mortality and childhood illnesses are reduced, lowering private and public health costs.

THE FACTS

Families of color are less likely to have access to paid family leave, and, on average, have fewer financial assets to weather gaps in income to take leave even when paid a percentage of their wages.

THE FACTS

8 in 10 voters support a comprehensive national paid family and medical leave policy that covers all people who work.

THE FACTS

Just 25 percent of all working people in the US have access to paid family leave through their employers.

Legislation At-A-Glance

The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act 

The FAMILY Act would create a comprehensive national program that makes paid family and medical leave affordable for employers of all sizes, and available to all workers and their families. It would provide 12 weeks of paid time off for workers to bond with a new child, care for their own or a family member’s serious medical condition, or seek assistance related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Across the country, working families would get the time they need to bond with their babies and care for themselves and family members in times of need, without risking their economic security.

 

What it could mean for babies:

All families would have the time they need to develop strong, nurturing relationships with their babies, and care for them when they are ill, without jeopardizing their financial stability. Paid leave would set

Advocacy Tools & Resources

Paid Leave Advocacy Toolkit: Use these tools to urge your policymakers to create a national paid family and medical leave program that ensures all babies have the opportunity to thrive.

“Time with my Youngest Daughter” Video: Watch and share this video from the National Partnership for Women & Families, where La Guardia Cross, creator of the viral YouTube series New Father Chronicles, talks about the importance of paid leave for working parents and their babies.

State of Babies Yearbook: 2023: Use national and state-by-state data on the well-being of infants and toddlers to call on federal, state, and local policymakers to improve outcomes for babies and families.