taking care of an infant full time by the parents for the first months of its life
The issue of balancing the demands of caring for young children and taking place in paid employment is a big challenge for parents, the governments, and employers in general. According to research, taking care of an infant full time by the parents for the first months of its life has a strong positive effect on the health of the child. In addition to this, the immortality rate of the children is decreased together with a good establishment of breastfeeding by the parents. Moreover, it is essential for the mother and the father to bond with their newborn child at this young age, to establish a relationship and build on the parent-child bond. As much as the father is also included in the parental leave, many societies deem it the responsibility of the m0ther to take care of the unborn child; the father’s responsibility is providing for the family. Due to these socio-economic and cultural perspectives, the pattern of limiting the woman’s participation in paid work career becomes difficult and limited to mothers.
On the other hand, the issue of parental leave has resulted in gender inequality in society. The topic of discussion involves the extension of length or increase in pay for parental consent; this is many concentrated on women. The woman, being the primary caregiver of children, has a negative implication on gender in the labor market. A good example is a fact that women with children are paid less compared to those without children. In some countries, like New Zealand, women with children are less likely to have a university degree or to work in a professional industry or even the right to have a permanent job; they are more advised on temporary employments, where they do not have to work full time. In most of the countries, the gap between men and women is persistent through the factor of women having unpaid or less paid parental leaves.
According to WHO, an infant requires six months of breastfeeding to help in their development and health promotion. Breastfeeding, for instance, according to the research done on economically developed countries, have the adequate advantage of the child’s development and health. Through breastfeeding, a mother allows the passive transmission of immunity t several illnesses, and as a result, a child is less exposed to pathogens, and the milk contains more nutrients compared to the formula-fed on children by the caregivers. In this case, children who are breastfed are more healthy compared to those who are not. Breastfeeding has also been noted to improve the neurocognitive development of a child. Empirical evidence shows that in both developing and developing countries, there are more than 800, 000 deaths of children who are of age two and below. This, however, would be prevented, if breastfeeding would be a near-universal strategy.
Another significant event in a child is immunization. Children, due to their weak immunity, are prone to infections in their neonatal phase, this is between the first 28days after birth. In addition to this, they are also at risk of more infections in the first 12 months as they develop their immune system. Vaccinations and immunization, however, help in reducing these risks in children. Diseases such as measles, gastroenteritis, and influenza are a significant cause of mortality rates among children, and they can be prevented through immunization. However, even with prevention strategies, the vaccine still fails at 100%. Among the barriers established preventing vaccination of children include poverty, poor transportation, and parental work schedules among working parents. Research in the United States indicates that among the reasons an s to why children are not vaccinated is due to work schedules among parents.
Role of paid parental leave
Research indicates that paid parental consent contributes to the healthy development of a child since the parent can breastfeed the child adequately, immunization is facilitated as well as the access of other medical care necessary to a child and their development. In addition to this, more extended periods of parental leave help in reducing the mortality rate among children. High-income countries, on the other hand, have proven that the extending of the maternal leave for mothers, help in increasing the breastfeeding rates of infants for at least six months, thus promoting their health and immunity. A study conducted by Chai, Heymann, and Nandi, 2018, examined a million births between the years of 1996 and 2014. The research indicated that a one month increase in the parental leave contributed to a 5.9% increase in the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and a 2.2% increase in the breastfeeding duration of infants. It was also noted that a six-month leave that was paid was positively associated with higher rates of breastfeeding among children. This study therefore prove that a paid vacation and an extended duration of holiday allow mothers to reach the WHO’s recommendation of six months breastfeeding for infants This, in turn, helps in improving the immunity of the child, reducing their risks to infections, reducing the mortality rate and reduce the time off take by mothers as they attend to these issues.
A paid parental leave that is supported through the extension of the leave period and providing the income needed through the time through payment helps in improving the nutritional results that cause healthy development among children. Another benefit of parental leave is the reduction of family violence. A study conducted in Australia indicates that paid parental consent is associated with a reduced probability of intimate partner conflict within the first year after childbirth. Violence has negative implications on both the mother and the child and should be avoided at all costs. It is reported that through the introduction of paid parental leave and extension of the leave duration, maltreatment, and physical abuse among children reduced at high rates.
Parental leave also affects the health of a child indirectly. Studies show that fathers who take up paternal leave are more involved in the life of their children as well as household chores. This factor helps the mothers in their breastfeeding process and also reduce the chances of postpartum depression. Paid Paternal leave helps in the healthy development of a child, and the parents get maximum time to take part in a child’s development. The consent is so associated with the quick recovery of sick children, better health results, and standard progress for infants.
Benefits of paid parental leave
A paid parental consent increases the economic empowerment of women through an increase in earnings, work experience, and in employment and labor participation. The adoption of paid leave policies helps in promoting the profession of maternal employment, and mothers can continue with their careers even after giving birth. For most women, when they get pregnant ad is almost giving birth, they leave work to go and take care of their children. A study in Denmark also proved that an extension of the parental leave by 14-20 weeks helped in increasing the income rate among women in the country.
Having a paid parental leave also help in boosting the economic well-being of a family. This is by enabling women to contribute to the financial operations of a household. Many families face an economic drop when a child is born since income is only sourced from the father. However, payment of mothers in their maternal leave reduces these chances and thus prevent a family from falling into poverty. With families, consisting of single mothers, the paid lave helps in maintaining the economic stability of the family as well as the development of the child. Through the reduction of poverty levels in households, infants can avoid risks that if they are exposed to for ling, may cause harm to their physical, cognitive, and emotional development. Some of these risks involve poor quality of air and water and limited access to food and being exposed to family violence as a result of poverty.
Paid paternal leave is also of benefit to employers’ and organizations. A company with good family policies like a paid leave promote a diverse workforce that adequately plays a significant role in competition and organizational sustainability. This is achieved by having a diverse workforce as well as motivating the employees and increasing their productivity. Through women economic empowerment as a result of having a paid parental leave, there is overall economic growth in a country. The economic growth is as a result of contribution to family income, providing resources from the children, and helping in the development and productivity of organizations through enhancing competition in organizations. In a recent estimation, an increase in the equality of women through paid parental leaves would add $12 billion to the annual Global gross domestic product (GDP), by the year 2025.
Over the past two decades, there has been a slow but steady rise in the number of countries providing paid leave and extending the duration of the parental consent for both the mothers and fathers. In the years between 1995 and 2014, 9 states have enacted maternal leave in their policies. Besides, 55 countries have I turn increased the duration of parental consent. Most countries in the world, meet the standard 14 weeks paid leave policy. The number of days for parental leave have progressively increased over the last two decades. Developing countries have been reported to offer less duration on parental leaves for mothers only compared to developed countries that give up to 18 weeks leave for both mothers and fathers.
Recommendations
It is essential that mothers especially can have a six-month parental leave to be in line with the recommended six mouths breastfeeding for an infant to promote their health and development. If six months are impossible, then the least amount of time should be a paid 18 weeks of parental leave. This is In addition to breastfeeding breaks for eight weeks until the child is two years of age and stop to breastfed. On the other hand, fathers should also have parental leave to establish their relation and bond with the child. This, in addition to taking part of their role as fathers and contributing to the care and development of the child. According to research, through providing parental leave to fathers, it helps in increasing the involvement of the father in a child’s growth, reduces inequality in gender and helps in supporting both the mother and the infant in the process. The parental leave provided should be inclusive of all preventive care necessary to ensure the responsibility of the child is of high quality until they get to an age where prenatal care is not very significant. Families with children should as well be able to access adequate wages that ensure that the family can meet their needs.
Conclusion
Parental leave is a significant aspect of the labor market. The consent gives a chance to the women to take time and care for the young children while at the same time, being able to protect their jobs and continue with their careers. A paid leave will help in ensuring that women do not return to work earlier so a stop can support their family economically and at the same time, risking the health and development of their children. Parental leave has been found to be significant for several reasons like it contribute to the health development of a child, since the parent is able to effectively breastfeed the child, immunization is facilitated as well as the access of other medical care necessary to a child and their development. Also, more extended periods of parental leave help in reducing the mortality rate among children. High-income countries, on the other hand, have proven that the extending of the maternal leave for mothers, help in increasing the breastfeeding rates of infants for at least six months thus promoting their health and immunity. By improving the nutritional results that cause healthy development among children. Another benefit of parental leave is the reduction of family violence. A paid and extended parental consent has its advantages as well. A paid parental leave increases the economic empowerment of women through an increase in earnings, work experience, and employment and labor participation. This is in addition to the ability of the woman in boosting the economic well-being of a family. This is by enabling women to contribute to the financial operations of a household. Paid paternal leave is also of benefit to employers’ and organizations. A company with good family policies like a paid leave promote a diverse workforce that adequately plays a significant role in competition and organizational sustainability.
The journey of having a paid and extended paternal leave has not been comfortable. Over the past two decades, there has been a slow but steady rise in the number of countries providing paid leave and extending the duration of the parental consent for both the mothers and fathers. Between the years of 1995 and 2014, for instance, nine countries have involved maternal leave in their policies. Besides, 55 states have I turn increased the duration of parental consent. In this case, it is recommended that it is essential that mothers especially can have a six-month parental leave to be in line with the recommended six mouths breastfeeding for an infant to promote their health and development. If six months are impossible, then the least amount of time should be a paid 18 weeks of parental leave. This is in addition to breastfeeding breaks for eight weeks until the child is two years of age and stop to breastfed. Besides, fathers should also have parental leave to establish their relation and bond with the child.
References
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