Chicago, IL, March 22, 2024: The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) has issued a position statement calling for six months of paid maternity leave with 100% pay. This expands the amount of leave called for by the International Labor Organization. This amount of leave will allow mothers to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months.  

Paid maternity leave benefits all of society, not just growing families, and helps meet several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Evidence shows that it helps foster economic growth, decreases child poverty, and decreases child mortality.

Not all new mothers can currently afford to take paid leave even when it is available. This is especially true when considering a family’s expenses will rise with the arrival of an infant, and paid leave is often granted with partial pay. Many low-wage workers earn barely enough to meet their daily needs and are unable to take advantage of paid leave.  

Longer, flexible paid leave for parents of sick and preterm infants is essential. Providing adequate paid leave for partners grants additional benefits to the family unit. We further contend that equitable paid maternity leave must be primarily provided by governments and cannot be accomplished by employers alone. When employers are responsible for providing payments themselves to mothers, mothers often have little recourse when employers withhold their pay or fail to grant them leave.   

Read the full position statement here.   

About the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine 

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is a global organization of medical doctors with over 1,200 members whose mission is to educate and empower health professionals to support and manage breastfeeding, lactation, and human milk feeding in order to achieve healthier lives worldwide through excellence in the medical care of breastfeeding and lactation. We curate, support, and share high-quality research and innovative solutions and strive to ensure that professionals are enabled to support and nurture families with safe and effective care.