Baby Herberger Maternity Leave Fund

We are so excited to welcome Little Baby Herberger in October! We have started a maternity leave fund at plumfund.com. It is like a baby registry, except instead of getting us gifts, you’re giving us the most precious thing we could ever ask for: time with our little one. Baby Herberger's mom is self-employed and receives no paid maternity leave. Supporting our maternity leave fund will allow Baby Herberger to spend as much time with his mom as possible right after birth and before she returns to work in January. Thank you for supporting us and our time together!

If you are interested in learning more, here is some information on parental leave and the benefits for babies and mothers who take leave:

Currently in the US one in four women who are employed go back to work within two weeks of delivery. As of 2015 only 12% of American companies offer paid maternity or paternity leave. A 2012 study found that 15% of people who were not paid or who received partial pay while on leave turned to public assistance for help. About 60% of workers who took leave reported it was difficult to make ends meet.

Benefits of parental leave:

-A 2011 study showed paid parental leave can reduce infant mortality by as much as 10% and increases the likelihood infants get well-baby care visits and vaccinations.

-One study showed children are 25.3% more likely to get their measles vaccine and 22.2% more likely to get their polio vaccine when mothers have access to paid maternity leave.

-Research from The Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn indicates higher education, IQ, and income levels in adulthood for children of mothers who used maternity leave.

-A 2011 study showed women who had paid leave breastfed twice as long as women who did not take leave. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to get a variety of infections and are at lower risk for asthma, obesity and SIDS. Women who breastfeed are less likely to get breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

-One study showed women who took more than 12 weeks maternity leave reported fewer depressive symptoms, a reduction in severe depression, and improvement in their overall mental health. A 2015 study showed women with generous maternity leave policies were 18% less likely to suffer from depression 30 years later.

-One study showed that women who took advantage of New Jersey's paid family leave policy were far more likely than mothers who hadn't to be working 9-12 months after the birth of their child. The study also found these women were 39% less likely to receive public assistance and 40% less likely to receive food stamps in the year following a child's birth compared to those who didn't take any leave.