My employer offers short-term disability for recovery after childbirth; however it is only 5 weeks of paid leave, and will only pay for those 5 weeks of leave after an employee has used up 15 days of accrued paid-time-off hours (or 15 days unpaid). Eight weeks of leave after childbirth is not sufficient for mother and baby to bond, develop a breastfeeding relationship, sleep schedule, etc. Moreover, providing pay for only 5 of those 8 weeks places an enormous financial burden on parents and families. If I, as a middle-class professional working in a well-paying job and living in a two-income household, felt the financial strain of caring for a newborn, I can only imagine the impossible financial situation that mothers in low-income jobs must find themselves. It is an unfair and inhumane situation for mothers and children. Sixteen weeks of paid leave to care for infants or other ill family members is so needed in DC.
