Paul L Foster School of Medicine, El Paso, TX, USA.
Department of Medical Education, Texas Tech Health Science Center El Paso, 5001 El Paso Drive, El Paso, TX, 79905, USA.
Matern Child Health J. 2023 Aug;27(8):1308-1323. doi: 10.1007/s10995-022-03524-0. Epub 2023 Apr 12.
Recent legislative decisions in the United States have encouraged discussion about national parental leave programs. Currently, over 47% of the United States workforce is female. However, the United States is the only nation of the 37 member countries in the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) to have no national requirement for maternity leave. The first few months of a child's life are vital to their physical and mental development. Likewise, a gradual return to pre-partum functioning is important for a newly postpartum woman. While it has been shown that maternity leave positively impacts various measures of maternal and infant mental and physical health, we lack consensus on the optimal length of paid or unpaid maternity leave. Accordingly, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the optimal length of paid or unpaid maternity leave to encourage maternal and infant mental and physical health in the United States.
A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to synthesize and critically evaluate the current research investigating the association between maternity leave and maternal and infant mental and physical health using the Preferred Reporting in Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Databases EMBASE, PsycInfo, and PubMed were searched using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies scale assessed the methodological quality of the included eligible studies. The magnitude of heterogeneity between-study was tested using The Cochrane χ test and the Moran's I statistic. Possible publication bias was assessed through the funnel plot and the Egger regression test. A p-value of < 0.10 will be considered as an indication for the existence of potential publication bias. All statistical analyses were carried out with Stata software version 15.
A total of 21 studies were analyzed. It was found that longer maternity leave may decrease rates of maternal mental and physical health complaints. It was also found that longer maternity leave leads to more positive mother-child interactions, decreased infant mortality, and longer periods of breastfeeding.
Maternity leave of 12 weeks or more confers the greatest benefit for mothers and their infants.
美国最近的立法决定引发了关于国家育儿假计划的讨论。目前，超过 47%的美国劳动力是女性。然而，美国是经济合作与发展组织（经合组织）37 个成员国中唯一一个没有产假要求的国家。孩子生命的头几个月对他们的身体和心理健康发展至关重要。同样，新产后妇女逐渐恢复产前功能也很重要。虽然已经表明产假对母婴身心健康的各种衡量标准都有积极影响，但我们在带薪或不带薪产假的最佳长度方面仍未达成共识。因此，我们进行了系统评价和荟萃分析，以评估带薪或不带薪产假的最佳长度，以促进美国母婴身心健康。
使用系统评价和荟萃分析的首选报告指南，进行了系统评价和荟萃分析，以综合和批判性评估当前研究调查产假与母婴身心健康之间关联的研究。使用特定的纳入和排除标准在 EMBASE、PsycInfo 和 PubMed 数据库中进行搜索。非随机研究方法学指数量表评估了纳入的合格研究的方法学质量。使用 Cochrane χ 检验和 Moran's I 统计量检验研究之间异质性的大小。通过漏斗图和 Egger 回归检验评估潜在的发表偏倚。p 值<0.10 将被认为表明存在潜在的发表偏倚。所有统计分析均使用 Stata 软件版本 15 进行。
共分析了 21 项研究。结果表明，较长的产假可能会降低产妇身心健康投诉的发生率。还发现，较长的产假会导致更多积极的母婴互动、降低婴儿死亡率和延长母乳喂养时间。
12 周或更长时间的产假对母亲及其婴儿最有益。
