New Zealand has passed a law that will give parents the right to take paid leave after a
pregnancy loss. Three women from around the world spoke to the BBC about the law and
the difference it could make.
“Losing a pregnancy is a trauma, like any other loss.”
When Denise Evans lost her baby, few knew she was pregnant. She was only six weeks
pregnant and hadn’t told some of her closest friends, not even her father. Denise Evans is a
journalist and says that when she lost her pregnancy, she had to deal with work problems
during that time.
As a freelance journalist, if you don’t show up for your shift, you don’t get paid. You can’t
take holidays for a long time because you have to meet the expenses and I didn’t want to
disappoint others.
Dunnes resides in the UK and many other countries around the world where women are
not officially given paid leave after a miscarriage or stillbirth. Instead, they have to rely on
sick leave or the sympathy of their officers to make them feel better physically and
emotionally.
New Zealand has become another country to legislate in this regard and the Parliament
here has unanimously approved the law. Accordingly, three days leave with pay will be
given after pregnancy loss or stillbirth at any stage of life.
Losing a pregnancy is not something that happens overnight,” says Deniz. It took me six
weeks to fully recover from the physical effects. The trauma of losing a pregnancy is
intense and it debilitates you.
You are going through so much emotionally during this time that can ease your worries.
Three days may seem short, but it still makes sense. You can ask for sick leave, but now you
know your pay won’t be cut during that time. It also gives a sense of harmony.
This law is not unique to New Zealand. The law to give women leave with pay for
pregnancy loss has been implemented in various forms in Nicaragua, Panama, Mauritania,
England and Indonesia before New Zealand, but the duration of these leaves is different in
other countries.
India’s Maternity Benefit Act will complete its 60th anniversary this year and is among the
first of its kind to provide women with six weeks’ leave with pay in the event of a
miscarriage, and women who have more If they suffer from complications or ill health, they
can get one more month’s leave.
Priya Sharma, a woman living in Nigloru, says that this law is so old that we now consider it
our right. Priya Sharma has undergone three miscarriages. He said he was not aware that
New Zealand and other countries did not have such laws and people had to take sick or
other leave during this time.
He said that these laws are very helpful for women despite exploitative and abusive
behavior in other sectors. She is a mother of one child but had one miscarriage and two
abortions. She works at a local company and says her manager is a very supportive man.
They said that they say as long as you want to take vacations you can and they don’t have to
worry about vacations. According to him, it is like saving someone’s life. Not having to
worry about vacations also helps in early recovery and during this time they have no
problem traveling to and from their parents’ house, who live in another city.
Like other women’s health issues, the topic of pregnancy loss is rarely discussed globally.
One in four pregnancies are lost before 28 weeks, and according to the World Health
Organization, 2.6 million babies are stillborn every year.
Dr. Nano Sumalila, Director General of the World Health Organization’s Health Issues for
Women, Children and Adolescent Girls, says that after an abortion, a woman deserves
compassion and support in every situation.
