Hey Mumshies! It’s me again, your millennial mother on social media!

What great news for all mothers and mothers- to – be! As of today, February 21, the Extended Maternity Leave Act is now a Law! The new law gives 105 paid leave days to all working mothers both in the government and private sectors, regardless of how they end up giving birth to their baby. This is a huge difference from the previous provision of 60 days of maternity leave for women who gave birth via natural vaginal delivery, and the 78 days maternity leave for mothers who gave birth via C-section.

But wait.. there’s more!

Aside from the already amazing leave days for mothers, there are perks proposed by the EML which includes seven days out of the 105 paid leave days may be transferred to the child’s father. Another is an additional 15 days of paid maternity leave to single mothers, and lastly, an option to extend for 30 more days of leave without pay for as long as the employer is given due notice in writing at least 45 days ahead. For cases such as miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy, there will be a 60- day paid maternity leave to be granted to the female worker.

Why is this a big deal?

Personally, I’ve never had to come across this issue because I’ve always been a Stay at Home Mom but I have friends who had to leave their baby at home at such a young age. I could have done the sacrifices they made, leaving their baby at a young age to their mother or caretaker to go back to work. They had to stop breastfeeding because of the added stress that pumping gave them. And ultimately, miss special milestones that happened while they were working. It takes a lot of courage and strength to handle such emotional stress and for that, I adore working mothers. But this can be prevented without harming their means of living because of this new law. The added time for mothers to stay at home allows them to focus on their postpartum recovery, and create a breastfeeding and care routine for their baby for the ease of transition to the caregivers and newborn.

Mothers should be able to stay at home with their babies longer, they should enjoy the wonders of breastfeeding their baby each day,  mothers should be given enough time to heal and adjust to their new situation, they shouldn’t be allowed to be rushed into work.

This is a great improvement to the Philippines since we are in a family- oriented society, we should value the time we have with our loved ones without being stressed at work. Our career should not be a hindrance for us to create memories during the first few months of our child’s life.

That’s it for today mumshies!

Ciao!