What to Know
There’s an episode of The Office where Pam holds off on giving birth as long as she can so that she can get an extra day in the hospital, per her health insurance. As funny as that episode is, what’s not funny is the fact that the struggle is real when it comes to pregnant women in the United States and their insurance policies and maternity leave. So when a mom on TikTok by the name of Ola shared a video where she says she is putting off having her baby before midnight despite being in labor, it’s not a joke.
Well, she does laugh through the ridiculousness of it, because what else can you do? When life in the U.S. hands you rotten lemons, you make terribly bitter lemonade and laugh through the pain, literally. She says in her video that she is four centimeters dilated, but that she wants to try and hold off giving birth until the following day so she can take the allotted maternity leave. If she goes into labor before the predetermined date, she is out of luck.
@tales_of_a_working_mama reality of having a baby in the US- diabolical.
♬ original sound – Mama Ola
Her reason behind holding off on labor has to do with maternity leave in the U.S.
Ola says in her TikTok that if she can’t make it to midnight, then she legally does not get maternity leave from her place of work. And, if that happens, she will have to return to work after just six weeks. That would mean her baby would be less than two months old, and she would be less than two months postpartum.
“This is so outrageous,” she says in the video. “I’m technically due on Monday, but baby is down. I’m four centimeters. The doctor was like, ‘yep, she’s ready. It’s gonna be quick.’ So I’m literally just trying to not move.”
Not only are working moms in the U.S. expected to be able to return to work and leave their infant after mere weeks with them, but they have limited options if they want any additional time. Never mind the fact that other countries ensure that maternity leave is guaranteed to women regardless of where they work.
Someone commented on the video with, “America is a third world country in a first world costume.”
Someone else, who is not from the U.S., wrote, “I’m sure there are many things Americans love about their country, but I just cannot imagine having to leave your 2-4 month old to return to work because the government and corporate America don’t think a baby deserves to spend time with its mother, is one of those things.”
She made it to the next morning, y’all, so don’t worry.
@tales_of_a_working_mama we made it 🫶
♬ original sound – Torosalazrr
Ola doesn’t explain the conditions of her maternity leave from work, or what other details there are about the need to make it to the following day without giving birth too early to qualify for her full maternity leave. However, in the U.S., different companies have different policies when it comes to paid leave after having a baby.
Luckily for Ola, she made it to the next day before she actually gave birth. She says as much in an update video from the hospital. She wrote on the screen that she had her daughter at 3:15 a.m. and now, because of that, she gets to have more time with her baby before she goes back to work. Anything less than several months of paid maternity leave is what she deserves, but unfortunately, I am not one of the billionaires who make those decisions in the U.S.
