U.S. Maternity Benefits Trail Other Nations, Study Says

The maternity and nursing benefits given to working mothers in the United States are the least generous in the industrialized world, according to a report released Sunday by the International Labour Organization, a United Nations agency.

The report, which reviewed maternity leave and health benefits mandated by law in 152 countries, found that about 80% of countries offer paid maternity leave to female workers; about a third permit the leaves to last for more than 14 weeks. Hungary, for example, gives 24 weeks of paid maternity leave, while Italy gives five months, Canada gives 17 weeks, and Spain and Romania each allows 16 weeks.

Special breaks for nursing mothers also are established in law in more than 80 countries, according to the U.N. report, with about half of those nations requiring additional breaks beyond the normal rest periods. In Haiti, for example, women can choose between two 30-minute breaks for nursing each day or 15 minutes every three hours. In the Netherlands, mothers get two 45-minute nursing breaks daily.

In the United States, the only law on maternity leave is the Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993, which permits workers to take as much as 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a variety of reasons, including childbirth. Many American women, however, work for companies that voluntarily offer their workers some paid maternity leave.

California is among a handful of states--including Hawaii, New York, Rhode Island and New Jersey--that provide partial maternity benefits through temporary disability insurance plans.