It’s been echoing around for years now: The United States is the only industrialized country without any sort of standard paid leave for new parents. In fact, one in four women return to work only two weeks after childbirth — a time in the postpartum process in which many women are still bleeding and cramping and, critically, still in the throes of learning how to take care of the newest — and neediest — addition to their family.
Though many workplaces are starting to offer paid maternity leave, it’s a benefit largely exclusive to women with higher incomes. Only six percent of low-wage earners have access to paid maternity leave through their employer. And all of this is in addition to the hurdles many women face professionally when having a baby, as some parts of our producti