Maternal and Child Health Program, Division of Community Health and Human Development, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA.
Health Services and Policy Analysis Program, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Matern Child Health J. 2014 Jan;18(1):200-208. doi: 10.1007/s10995-013-1255-4.
Early return to work after childbirth has been increasing among working mothers in the US. We assessed the relationship between access to employer-offered maternity leave (EOML) (both paid and unpaid) and uptake and duration of maternity leave following childbirth in a socio-economically diverse sample of full-time working women. We focus on California, a state that has long provided more generous maternity leave benefits than those offered by federal maternity leave policies through the State Disability Insurance program. The sample included 691 mothers who gave birth in Southern California in 2002-2003. Using weighted logistic regression, we examined the EOML-maternity leave duration relationship, controlling for whether the leave was paid, as well as other occupational, personality and health-related covariates. Compared with mothers who were offered more than 12 weeks of maternity leave, mothers with <6 weeks of EOML and those offered 6-12 weeks had five times higher odds of returning to work within 12 weeks; those offered no leave had six times higher odds of an early return. These relationships were similar after controlling for whether the leave was paid and after controlling for other occupational and health characteristics. Access to and duration of employer-offered maternity leave significantly determine timing of return to work following childbirth, potentially affecting work-family balance. Policy makers should recognize the pivotal role of employers in offering job security during and after maternity leave and consider widening the eligibility criteria of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
美国职业女性产后重返工作岗位的比例不断上升。我们评估了在一个社会经济多样化的全职女性样本中，雇主提供的产假（包括带薪和不带薪）与产后产假的利用率和持续时间之间的关系。我们主要关注加利福尼亚州，该州通过州伤残保险计划，长期以来提供的产假福利比联邦产假政策更为优厚。该样本包括 2002-2003 年在南加州分娩的 691 位母亲。我们使用加权逻辑回归分析了 EOML-产假持续时间之间的关系，控制了产假是否带薪，以及其他职业、个性和与健康相关的混杂因素。与获得超过 12 周产假的母亲相比，获得不到 6 周 EOML 和 6-12 周 EOML 的母亲在 12 周内重返工作岗位的可能性高 5 倍；没有获得产假的母亲的可能性高 6 倍。在控制了产假是否带薪以及其他职业和健康特征后，这些关系仍然相似。获得和持续的雇主提供的产假显著决定了产后重返工作的时间，可能会影响工作与家庭的平衡。政策制定者应该认识到雇主在提供产假期间和之后的工作保障方面的关键作用，并考虑扩大《家庭和医疗休假法案》的资格标准。
