maternity leave
Mamas on Bedrest: Take Your Baby to Work!
April 20th, 2012
More and more mamas are taking their babies to work thanks in part to the Parenting in the Workplace Institute.
The Parenting in the Workplace Institute was developed after founder Carla Moquin created Babies in the Workplace, a website dedicated to helping companies
“implement successful business programs in which parents can bring their babies to work and care for them while doing their jobs.”
Moquin, a psychologist, had been researching babies in the workplace since 2005. She launched the website in 2007. Since its inception, Babies in the Workplace has helped some 171 companies implement programs that allow parents to bring their babies to work and thus far, 2041 babies have been successfully brought to work.
So why is this program so important?
According to the Parenting in the Workplace Institute, bringing babies to work has these benefits:
- Babies in the workplace tend to be mellow and highly content
- In structured programs work environments include happy babies, parental closeness, social interaction and physical contact, highly responsive care and high rates of breastfeeding
- Happy babies in the workplace lower stress and promote comraderie amongst coworkers
The benefits to companies/employers are:
- Employees return to work earlier
- Employees are more loyal and there are higher rates of employee retention
- There is more teamwork and cooperation
- Employers with the program attract more skilled employees
- Increased morale and productivity
- Lower health costs
- Attract new customers and increase loyalty
- Low implementation costs
This is such a win-win situation. It is amazing that more companies aren’t jumping on the bandwagon to implement such programs. Moquin and her staff have created a very easy to implement program and parents who are interested in presenting the program to their employers can visit the Parenting in the workplace website or better yet, the Babies in the Workplace website which has specific resources on how to approach your employer. The website also has details about how the programs work and how to implement them. Finally, there is the Working with kids blog that shows successful programs and babies in the workplace.
This is an amazing resource and mamas on bed rest, this may be the program you need if you decide to return to work outside the home. Take a look and be sure to share your comments and experiences with us here in our comments section!
Mamas on Bedrest: The 10 Best Countries for Maternity Care
January 25th, 2012Today’s post comes courtesy of our friends at Medical Billing and Coding.
For those of you who don’t know, Medical Billers make sure that a patient’s medical record has all of the required information, that the providers have signed the record, the all the patient’s insurance information is included and recorded properly for the best reimbursement, and that the bill is processed correctly. Medical Coders make sure that the medical records and insurance claims have the proper medical codes on them so that when they are processed by insurance companies, the claims are processed swiftly and efficiently and maximum benefits are paid. If codes are missing or incorrect, medical claims can be delayed or denied and no payments made. Skilled Medical Billers and Coders ensure that providers receive adequate compensation for their services and that patients pay only their fair portion of their medical bills.
Please take a look at the Medical Billing website and feel free to contact them if they can be of assistance. We offer this hearty thanks for their guest blog!
The 10 Best Countries for Maternity Care
In a perfect world, maternity care would be at a similarly excellent level for all moms and babies around the world, but the fact is that some countries just seem to do better than others. Government programs, medical culture, and other factors that support maternal health and finances for new families can make a big difference for moms. In this list, we’ll show you 10 countries that are clearly doing things right, where moms (and often, dads) enjoy maternity and newborn perks like house calls, baby bonuses, 100% free health care, and amazingly low rates of maternal and infant death. We’ve listed these mother-loving countries in no particular rank because we believe they’re all excellent. So read on to find out about the 10 countries that know how to treat moms right.
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France
Mothers in France enjoy a multitude of maternity benefits, ranging from generous paid time off to extended time in the hospital. One mom, Bindi Dupouy, enjoyed five full days of resting at her local hospital after a normal vaginal delivery, and enjoyed the entire experience. Dupouy shared, “They treat expecting mums like treasures here. They take really good care of you. The health care system is just amazing.” After leaving the hospital, Dupouy was able to take five months paid maternity leave from her job as a lawyer, and on top of that, can opt to take an additional seven months unpaid without any job disruption. With a full year available after birth, Dupouy and other French mothers certainly have the opportunity to bond and enjoy their children while they’re still small. The benefits for families continue well after infanthood, as well. France offers subsidized daycare before age three, childcare allowances, and stipends for in-home nannies, as well as universal full time preschool beginning at the age of three. Statistically, France does well for moms, with 99% of women receiving at least one pre-natal visit and delivery care coverage from a skilled attendant. The risk of maternal death is low, at 1 in 6,600, as well as an under-5 mortality rate of four. These facts are not lost on French families, who are propelling France’s “robust reproduction rate” past other European countries that are suffering from a decline in births. -
Sweden
Sweden is easily one of the best places in the world to have a baby, and it shows: the country has one of the highest birth rates in Europe, just edging out France’s rate of 1.8 with 1.9 children per mom. That’s largely thanks to generous parental leave laws, which allow Swedish women to easily juggle work and family. Together, Swedish couples enjoy 13 months paid leave, plus another three months at a fixed rate. Most of that time is available to be split between the two parents, so families can decide which parent would be better at home. Swedish mom Anna Eriksson enjoys this system, pointing out that it “means there’s no financial hardship, and your job is still waiting for you afterward,” thanks to a law that requires employers to hold a mother’s job during her maternity leave. Eriksson spent seven months at home with her son before her partner, Henrik Eriksson took over to become a stay at home dad. The situation works so well for the Erikssons, that they decided to have another baby shortly after their son’s birth. Perhaps even more impressive, the Erikssons are able to enjoy these benefits even though they are an unmarried couple. Health-wise, Swedish families do very well, with a maternal mortality ratio of 1 in 11,400 and a very low under-5 mortality rate. -
Norway
Norway is another top contender for a great place to have a baby, with excellent medical care, generous maternity leave, and low mortality rates for both mother and child. Norwegian women enjoy medical professionals present at almost all of their births, and there is only a 1 in 175 chance of losing a child before the age of five. Norway’s c-section rate is low, with just 16% of births from 2005 to 2009 delivered via c-section. Norway also enjoys a maternal mortality ratio that’s on par with other developed countries at a rate of 1 in 7,600, as well as an under-5 mortality rate of three. But perhaps the most impressive part of giving birth in Norway is that it’s 100% free, from the first check up to the delivery, due to universal health care in the country. The international organization Save the Children praised Norway for these marks, as well as “one of the most generous maternity leave policies in the developed world,” a full year of paid leave for parents to spend with their infant. Norway’s clear advantage in these departments earned them number 1 in their 2011 Top Ten Places to Be a Mother report. -
Australia
Australian moms don’t do too shabby either, with Australia coming in at number two according to Save the Children. The rankings were a result of figures including maternal death, access to medical resources, and the economic and political status of women. For most women, maternity care through Medicare is nearly free, with some only responsible for small co-pay amounts for doctor visits and no charge at all for hospital care. It’s not at all surprising to find out that Australian women take full advantage of this care, with statistics reporting that 100% of Australian moms have at least one pre-natal visit, and 100% have a skilled attendant at birth. C-section rates are fairly high at 30%, but that is still lower than the United States’ 31%, and the maternal mortality ratio is a reasonably low 1 in 7,400. Women, and mothers in particular, are well supported in Australia, with up to a year of shared maternity and paternity leave for parents. Previously, this was on an unpaid basis, but now, both mother and father receive 18 weeks of paid leave at federal minimum wage. For families who opt not to take part in parental leave pay, a baby bonus is available, with monthly installments paid out over the first year of the baby’s life to offset the additional costs of having a new child. The cost of having a child is further discounted through Australia’s child care benefit, which offers assistance with high day care costs. -
Iceland
Iceland is another country that takes good care of its moms, with extensive pre-natal care offered for free to legal residents of more than six months. Icelandic moms enjoy about ten visits before the birth of their first child, including care from both midwives and doctors, ultrasounds, and general medical examinations. The hospital birth experience is also free, with a “lying-in” period that varies from one day to several days, depending on the circumstances of the birth. Icelandic births are very safe, with just a 17% c-section rate and a 1 in 9,400 maternal mortality ratio. Iceland also provides for a midwife home birth option for mothers with favorable conditions. After delivery, nurses will actually do a home visit for the the new mother and child, helping them to get settled into their new lives together, eliminating the stress and risk of infection associated with newborn doctor office visits. Working moms and dads in Iceland are cared for financially, with 90 days at 80% of their salary for both parents, plus 90 days to be shared between the parents. This time can be taken at any point during the first 18 months of their baby’s life. Iceland also provides for quarterly child benefits, paid at a fixed amount for each child under seven years of age, and disbursed based on family size and income through 18 years of age. There is one strange drawback to having a baby in Iceland, however: you must pick your baby’s name from the National Register of Persons, otherwise, you have to appeal for a new name to be added to the list, which must not be embarrassing, and conform to the Icelandic language and customs. -
Germany
German moms are well cared for, with plenty of maternity benefits, and even special benefits for nursing mothers. After delivery, families are welcome to stay for what seems like a luxurious visit: 7 days for a vaginal delivery, and 7 to 14 days for a cesarean section. During this stay, moms can benefit from exercise classes to get back into shape, as well as therapeutic measures like sitting baths and sunlamps. Both pregnant and nursing mothers have extensive protection in the German workplace, and can not be scheduled to work on Sundays, or holidays, take on overtime or be required to more than 8 1/2 hours of work each day. Pregnant mothers are not expected to work during the last six weeks of their pregnancy in Germany, and new mothers are not allowed to return to work until their child is eight weeks old. Germany has strict rules about the hazardous exposures that pregnant and nursing mothers are open to, providing for adequate breaks and a ban on heavy, physical labor, as well as a ban on any conditions that might be hazardous to their health. German moms benefit from four months maternity leave, and employers are required to provide for at least three months of pay. Statistics back up Germany’s excellent policies, with an outstanding 1 in 11,100 maternal mortality ratio, and under-5 mortality rate of four. -
Switzerland
Women in Switzerland enjoy a wealth of choices in childbirth. Births may take place in a hospital, after which moms and babies return home in the care of a midwife if they are both well. Mothers also have the choice to have a home birth, or go to a birth house where the environment is more home-like with little to no medical interventions, attended by midwives. Maternity benefits are great, with basic birth costs covered for Swiss women. Working Swiss mothers are eligible for 14 weeks paid maternity leave, and are forbidden from working for the first eight weeks following birth. Weeks nine through 16 are optional. Maternal mortality in Switzerland is low at 1 in 7,600, and the under-5 mortality rate is 4, both of which are on par with other industrialized countries. -
Japan
Japanese families benefit from a similar situation to the Swiss. Moms in Japan can choose from hospitals, the most popular choice, midwife clinics with a home-like atmosphere, or a home birth. Two prenatal checkups are provided free of charge, and there are free childbirth classes available. Drawbacks do exist, however. Some women feel it is a bit over-medicalized, with too many tests, but most doctors are happy to scale it back on request. There are also some unusual restrictions for pregnancy that women in other parts of the world might not understand, like keeping your feet warm, wrapping your belly to keep it warm, and not driving after the eighth month of pregnancy. But for most women, these quirks are worth enduring for the world class medical care available. Japan’s maternal mortality ratio is among the best in the world at 1 in 12,200, and 100% of births have a skilled attendant of some kind present. Japan’s postnatal care is excellent, and most hospitals expect new families to stay about a week, however, families can leave earlier if they feel they are up to it. Families are expected to pay for their own medical costs, but after the birth will receive a standard payout, presumably to apply to medical bills. Financial support after the birth is reasonable, with moms receiving 60% of their usual pay for 14 weeks. Moms and dads can both take up to a year off for parental leave, offering Japanese families plenty of time to bond and adjust to their new lives together. -
Italy
If you’re strictly concerned with maternal health, Italy is the place to be. In 2010, the country was rated the safest place to have a baby, with just 4 maternal deaths per 100,000 births. Amazingly, this incredibly safe maternity environment is completely free, in a system where families do not have to pay for prenatal visits or the hospital birth. Moms also benefit from 22 weeks of leave paid at 80% of their salary, and 2 weeks to relax and prepare for birth. And to encourage more children in the country, Italy has begun to offer a 1,000 Euro baby bonus to families with newborns. However, despite Italy’s benefits and safe delivery environment, it does have a high rate of c-sections: 40%. This may not necessarily be a reflection of poor care however, as many Italian women wait until they are older to have children, and advanced maternal age can come with higher risks for birth that may lead to c-section. The high rate of c-sections may also be tied to the excellent safety rating of the maternal health system, in which doctors do not hesitate to take drastic measures (as in a necessary c-section) to protect the lives of Italian mothers. -
The Netherlands
Women who are interested in natural childbirth just might want to head to the Netherlands. The Dutch believe in keeping it natural, avoiding treating pregnant women as patients with a medical condition. That is not to say that they aren’t taken care of, though. Moms in the Netherlands do have excellent support, with 100% of births taking place with a skilled attendant present, which can mean either an OB-GYN or midwife. Home births are common, with 30% of births in the Netherlands taking place at home, the highest rate of home births in the world. Women are safe giving birth in the Netherlands with a low maternal mortality ratio (1 in 7,100). Just 10% of women in the Netherlands use pain relief, and no traditional pain relief is available at Dutch home births. Instead, moms are taught natural methods of pain management in prenatal classes, including yoga techniques. Moms who deliver in hospitals are typically home within hours, sent with a maternity care assistant to stay for at least a week to help out and support the family. This assistant is known as a kraamzorg, and offers an amazing amount of help to new moms with guidance on breastfeeding, baby care, as well as duties including light cleaning and babysitting older children. The help continues, as Dutch moms get 16 weeks maternity leave paid at 100% of their salary. Fathers only get two days leave paid at 100%, but both parents have up to 26 weeks available to take unpaid from employers, and through tax breaks, receive 50% of the national minimum wage.
We’re sure you’re wondering why the US is not a part of this list. In a recent ranking by Save the Children, the US came in at #31 on the Mothers’ Index, and it’s not difficult to see why. Safety for infants is an issue, with an under-5 mortality rate of 8, compared with the 4 or fewer seen in most other industrialized countries. The maternal mortality rate is similarly disturbing, with a ratio of 1 in 2,100 versus a typical 1 in about 7,500 often found in other industrialized countries. The US has a high c-section rate of 31%, double the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 15%. But beyond medical care, American moms still get the short end of the stick, with no paid maternity leave, a benefit that even moms in Afghanistan enjoy (90 days at 100%), the country rated the absolute worst for mothers at #164. In fact, the US is the only country in the developed world without a mandatory paid maternity leave. While it isn’t the worst place in the world to give birth, the US is a long way from making our top 10 list.
Thanks again to Medical Billing and Coding for this really informative post. Please share your comments below. You can also chat with us on Twitter (@mamasonbedrest) and on our Facebook Page. Want to read our blogs as soon as they are posted? Subscribe to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner of our webpage!!
Mamas on Bedrest: “2011 A Horrible, Wonderful Year” A Mama’s Triumph Over Adversity
January 4th, 2012Mamas are the most resilient people that I know!
After going through fertility treatments, Paige, @babydust on Twitter and the author of this post, is a mama to a 3 year old little girl and darling twin baby boys. Now a SAHM (stay at home mama), many would think that Paige “lives the life”. But her journey was anything but easy. Paige’s story epitomizes an all too common scenario for Mamas on Bedrest. Yet, despite its troughs and pitfalls, Paige prevailed.
For those of you “going through” I share Paige’s story with you (with her permission) to show you that you are not alone in your trials and to show you that there can be a happy ending. Paige has an awesome blog called Baby Dust Diaries. I highly recommend you take a look. Thank you so much Paige for sharing your story!
2011 A Horrible, Wonderful Year
Ah 2011. What can I say about you? My first reaction is that 2011 SUCKED BIG TIME. I mean at least 70% of the days of this year were some of the hardest of my life. And yet, in all the ways that really matter, you know those ways that will matter in 5, 10, 20 years, 2011 was full of life-changing blessings. I mean I welcomed two baby boys into my family AND I became (at last) a stay at home mom.
I guess the problem was, as will most things, my blessings came with much blood, sweat and tears. I started the year with an extended hospital stay to keep my babies from being born too early. Hospital bedrest is misery. Seriously.
Yet, it was a blessing because it kept my boys a-baking for a crucial extra month!
Even though my eventual goal was to be a SAHM it would probably have taken a few years for my hubby and I to get to that point. And then Psycho Boss (PB) entered the picture. I can’t even describe the continuous harassment I endured at this person’s hands. The examples would be endless and cause me stress just in the remembering. Worse yet, the process that is supposed to protect employees from Pregnancy discrimination failed me miserably. At every turn I had people shocked at the treatment I endured and agreeing that it had to end. Then when I finally sought formal relief it is like the “machine” that was my agency responded by getting its hackles up. Talking about an issue is one thing – actually filing a complaint? In hindsight, the minute I formalized my complaint my career was over. Even if I had won (or especially if I had won) I would have been blacklisted. It became a witch hunt. No one denied the discrimination but everything else became a problem. In the end, a job that I loved and had always been family friendly, ended because I couldn’t attend a 6PM meeting with 3 hours notice. They actually laughed (yes, LAUGHED) when I said I’d need a days notice to change my child care arrangements. It wasn’t about that meeting it was about punishing me for complaining.
Ugh! Enough of that! Just talking about it is going to give me nightmares tonight (luckily the daily nightmares are now just weekly, they’ll go away, right?) My point is that it was demoralizing in the extreme. I couldn’t sleep or eat I had a constant headche and stomach ache. I had no energy to parent. I considered hurting myself although I don’t think I was suicidal. It certainly combined/exacerbated/triggered severe post-partum depression. It was the second worst thing that has ever happened to me.
Yet, I had asked God to help me stay home with my kids and he sure did. The circumstances were less than ideal but I got my wish. I’m sure that 5 years from now I’ll be so glad I quit my job. Maybe I’ll even be thankful for PB? Nah.
An added problem was that I couldn’t talk about any of this on the blog. I get even angrier at PB when I think about him taking away my voice, my outlet. Holding back what was really going on in my life made any writing impossible. You can’t build a partial dam, know what I mean? THEN I got hacked and it felt like a punch in the stomach. Here my one solace – my blog – was being taken away.
Sob. Sob. I know it might sound pathetic but it was a very difficult year. I’m glad it is over and I look forward to looking back on it as a huge transitional point in my life for the better. I also hope to NEVER relive it!
Mamas, you can make it! Our roads are not typically easy, but as Paige shows, they are often well worth the struggle. Congratulations to Paige for her beautiful children and for finally becoming the SAHM she wanted to be.
Would you like to share your Bedrest story with other mamas? We’d love to hear it and share it! Share your story or a link to it at info@mamasonbedrest.com and give us the full attribution so we can credit you. Your stories are what keep other mamas who are still “on the road” trodding.
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