Paid family leave, across the board, would be incredibly beneficial to all families. In my case, I was not offered formal maternity leave of any kind and was unable to utilize FMLA because the company I work for is too small to be eligible. This meant that in order to have time off to recover from childbirth and bond with my newborn, I had to use my own PTO. I was fortunate enough to not need to take much sick time during my pregnancy so I was able to save those hours for my postpartum period, but many others are not that fortunate. And with all of the doctors appointments healthy newborns have, if someone has a baby that needs extra, they may not have any sick time left to take to care for their baby. In addition, I unfortunately suffered from mild postpartum depression. With needing to take my own sick time for my maternity leave, and needing to use that time to physically heal and learn to care for this new human, taking extra time to make sure that stayed under control was impossible. It is only that much harder for parents with more severe PPD or PPA. For a country that has been putting so much emphasis on a child's life and potential in recent years, the fact that we make it so hard for parents to care for that life is outrageous. Only 8 countries do not have paid family leave, and the U.S. is the largest country of those 8. Research shows that paid family leave has a positive impact on adult and child mental, physical, and financial health and yet, the United States is the only industrialized country without a national paid family leave policy. Our families deserve better. Our children deserve better.

There is evidence to support how important they paid leave is for birthing persons and their families. Please support the mother's needs and allow every single one to have paid medical leave. I have given birth to 2 children and I cannot comprehend making a mother choose to either (1) care for herself and baby without pay or (2) return to the workforce before she is healed and ready to do her job successfully. Please hear our concerns.

Comments Document

We are a family of 8. In August of 2024 we lost our 12 day old son after a two week stay in the NICU where he never woke up. Paid Family Medical Leave allowed my Husband and our family to stay together with him over the course of his short life. If we did not have access to Paid Family Medical Leave my husband would have had to return to work almost immediately and would have missed the most important time we were allowed to spend with our son. Prior to our loss in August of 2024, Paid Family Medical Leave also let us enjoy the birth and postpartum period after our daughters were born. Paid Family Medical Leave also allowed us to care for our children and our parents when they need us the most, whether it was during sickness, a heart bypass surgery, and cancer. Needless to say we actively support Paid Family Medical Leave and believe all people will benefit from this at some point in their lives. Please Support and Expand Paid Family Medical Leave!

Paid family leave is absolutely essential for not only the employer but also the employer. It allows employees to take time off work with pay to bond with a new child, care for a sick family member, or manage their own serious health condition, while still maintaining their job. It helps individuals balance work and family responsibilities without having to choose between their career and personal needs, which not only improves employee morale but also retention rates. Please do the right thing. Thank you for your consideration.

To Whom It May Concern: Paid family leave is important for many reasons including -better health outcomes for mothers and infants postpartum. Research shows lower rates of postpartum depression and improved breastfeeding rates. -stronger child-parent bonds. Allowing parents to take time to bond can have positive impacts on child development and family dynamics. -increased work production and economic benefit. For women, paid family leave will allow them to maintain their employment and return to work after having a child. This can will increase workforce participation that can contribute to economic growth. On a greater scale, having a society that supports women , babies, and families leads to a more healthy, less violent, stable society.

I am writing to urge the members of this committee to support HB 2531 - Del. Sewell. I’ve experienced new parenthood both with and without paid leave, and I can attest to the incredible burden that was lifted when I didn’t have to worry about maintaining a job while navigating all of the overwhelming concerns that come with caring for a new baby and recovering from giving birth. I never felt like I was able to properly mourn my stillborn daughter, partially due to the need to forgo paid work in the days and weeks after losing her. When my now 12 year-old daughter was born, I had no option but to quit my job, making me completely economically dependent on her father (thank goodness he is a kind person; not everyone is so lucky). My third pregnancy was the first time I had the benefit of paid leave. I was able to visit my youngest daughter every day during the excruciatingly long two weeks of her NICU stay, coming home every evening to care for her older sister after the school day. I have no idea how our family would have survived without paid leave; I needed to be in that NICU and we also needed to keep a roof over our heads, and we could not have provided both without my paid leave. Right now, during emergencies and other major life events, parents and caregivers are at the whims of their employers. We cannot ensure that we will be able to provide the essential needs our families rely on, unless we have the assurance of paid family leave in the Commonwealth.