Key Takeaways

Even though the United States doesn’t offer paid leave for new parents, a rising number of Americans are supporting the measure. A new study found that Americans are aligned with a majority of people in over 20 countries who overwhelmingly support paid paternity leave.

For the study, researchers from Ohio State University and Ball State University reviewed data from over 35,000 people who participated in a 2012 international social survey.

All the participants were from 26 wealthy countries, as determined from data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank, including Canada, Finland, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States.

The participants on average supported a 13 month-long leave. The study was published in theInternational Journal of Comparative Sociologyin late June.

You Can Now Get Free Child Care During Your COVID Vaccine Appointment

In total, around 74% of participants believed that the government should offer financial support for paternity leave.

People who viewed childcare as gendered work were less likely to support it. And women, on the other hand, were more likely to rally behind the measure.

COVID-19 Vaccine Trials in Kids: Where Do They Stand?

“[This] further suggests that women are more likely than men to recognize the usefulness of paid parental leave for meeting their family and work aspirations and expectations,” the researchers wrote.

Where Does Family Leave Stand in the U.S.?

Despite many Americans supporting both, paid maternity and paternity leave, only six states and Washington D.C. have active paid family leave programs, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Those states include:

In addition, Colorado, Connecticut, and Oregon have all passed paid family leave programs, but they have not gone into effect as of February 2021.

Sabrina Shaheen Cronin, JD,founder and managing partner who practices family law at the Cronin Law Firm, tells Verywell that the federalFamily and Medical Leave Act(FMLA) currently in place, could allow fathers to take paternity leave, albeit unpaid.

“If an employer has over 50 employees, for FMLA, they can’t jeopardize someone’s job for taking an unpaid leave,” she says. Under FMLA, people are permitted to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year.

Pregnant Women May Face Barriers For Opioid Addiction Treatment

“A lot of states have at-will employment, and that means that anyone can be fired for any reason at any time no matter what,” Cronin says. Unfortunately, she also added that some lawyers may be reluctant to represent people who may have been unjustly fired in states with at-will employment policies.

Cronin notes that families with LGBTQ+ parents may also face additional barriers to taking paid or unpaid family leave.

“The LGBTQ+ population, they are actually severely disadvantaged when it comes to paid time off, and they’re hit the hardest when it comes to wages and discrimination,” she adds.

Health Benefits of Paternity Leave

If both parents have paid leave, Eddy says they can help each other manage their mental health.

“If one partner is struggling, and if we have paid time off or paid leave, the other partner could step in and help their partner, whether it be to going to therapy with them or whether it be helping more with child care,” Eddy adds.

Why Your Child’s First 5 Years of Learning Matter for Adulthood

“It’s also been paternal involvement or having fathers more involved is linked to toddlers developing early developing language skills earlier on, emotional regulation, [and] being able to soothe a lot of self soothe more,” he says.

What This Means For You

Paternity Leave Can Be Good for Businesses Too

“You’re trying to take care of yourself and your partner, still working full time and, and all the commitments that a job has, and it’s really tough to keep yourself in a good state with your mental health,” Eddy says.

Some companies may pressure fathers to return to work quickly, despite having paid leave in place. “Even if they have paid time off or paternity leave, oftentimes their companies will pressure them to not take as much time as they can about quickly, or [will say], ‘hey you’re really needed here,’” he adds.

Study Shows Flu Shot in Pregnancy Does Not Lead to Health Issues for Children

4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Knoester C, Li Q, Petts RJ.Attitudes about paid parental leave: cross-national comparisons and the significance of gendered expectations, family strains, and extant leave offerings.Int J Comp Sociol. doi:10.1177/00207152211026705Li Q, Knoester C, Petts RJ.Attitudes about paid parental leave in the U.S.Sociol Focus. SocArXiv. doi:10.31235/osf.io/hd4ctBipartisan Policy Center.State paid family leave laws across the U.S.Scraff JR.Postpartum depression in men.Innov Clin Neurosci. 2019;16(5-6):11-14. PMID: 31440396

4 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Knoester C, Li Q, Petts RJ.Attitudes about paid parental leave: cross-national comparisons and the significance of gendered expectations, family strains, and extant leave offerings.Int J Comp Sociol. doi:10.1177/00207152211026705Li Q, Knoester C, Petts RJ.Attitudes about paid parental leave in the U.S.Sociol Focus. SocArXiv. doi:10.31235/osf.io/hd4ctBipartisan Policy Center.State paid family leave laws across the U.S.Scraff JR.Postpartum depression in men.Innov Clin Neurosci. 2019;16(5-6):11-14. PMID: 31440396

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Knoester C, Li Q, Petts RJ.Attitudes about paid parental leave: cross-national comparisons and the significance of gendered expectations, family strains, and extant leave offerings.Int J Comp Sociol. doi:10.1177/00207152211026705Li Q, Knoester C, Petts RJ.Attitudes about paid parental leave in the U.S.Sociol Focus. SocArXiv. doi:10.31235/osf.io/hd4ctBipartisan Policy Center.State paid family leave laws across the U.S.Scraff JR.Postpartum depression in men.Innov Clin Neurosci. 2019;16(5-6):11-14. PMID: 31440396

Knoester C, Li Q, Petts RJ.Attitudes about paid parental leave: cross-national comparisons and the significance of gendered expectations, family strains, and extant leave offerings.Int J Comp Sociol. doi:10.1177/00207152211026705

Li Q, Knoester C, Petts RJ.Attitudes about paid parental leave in the U.S.Sociol Focus. SocArXiv. doi:10.31235/osf.io/hd4ct

Bipartisan Policy Center.State paid family leave laws across the U.S.

Scraff JR.Postpartum depression in men.Innov Clin Neurosci. 2019;16(5-6):11-14. PMID: 31440396

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?