Maternity leave, Shmaternity leave

While the Bush Administration argues for ‘culture of life’ that protects fetuses, America’s children go uncared for.
The United States is one of two industrialized countries (the other being Australia) that doesn’t provide paid leave for new mothers:
In Santa Fe, Linda Strauss McIlroy, a first-time mother, is trying to get used to the thought of soon putting her two-month-old boy in day care so she can get back to work.
“It’s hard for me to imagine leaving him,” she says. “Just not being with him all day, leaving him with a virtual stranger. And then that’s it till, you know, I retire. It’s kind of crazy to think about it.”
Across the border in Vancouver, Canada, Suzanne Dobson is back at work after 14 months of paid maternity leave.
“It was great,” she says. “I was still making pretty good money for being at home.”
Across the ocean, in Sweden, Magnus Larsson is looking forward to splitting 16 months of parental leave at 80% pay with his girlfriend. They are expecting their first baby in a week.
Who has the real culture of life here?
And why does the U.S. have such a different take on child care? It’s feminists’ fault, of course!
Jane Waldfogel, also a professor at Columbia, says another part of the puzzle is that the European and American feminist movements had differing goals.
In Europe, feminists emphasized special treatment for mothers, including maternity leave and child care.

“The American feminist movement didn’t want to hear anything about mothers,” Waldfogel says. “They wanted equal rights for women and didn’t emphasize special treatment.”

Um, what? The second wave most certainly did fight for universal child care, so I don’t know where this Prof. is getting her info from.
If you want more information on maternity leave and child care, check out Legal Momentum’s Family Initiative and their new report, Early Childhood Education for All: A Wise Investment.