When it comes to the world’s maternity leaves report card, not all countries are passing with flying colors. But Poland is definitely doing amazing comparing to other countries.

When I was pregnant with my babies, thinking about spending all time with my child sounded like an amazing thing! However it was stressful at the same time as well. I was talking to my friends back in Poland and couldn’t believe how much time they could spend at home with the baby before and after baby is born! And still getting paid 100% of their pay!

That’s me with my older daughter Natalia! It’s amazing to be able to spend so much time with her!

Maternity leaves aren’t simply a matter of time off for childcare – they can also strongly impact the rest of a child’s life. According to a report by non-governmental organization Save The Children, in countries with longer periods of parental leave, children were found to be breastfed for longer and their life expectancy was higher.

The group looked at the top developed countries that are succeeding in maternity leave benefits, and which ones continue to lag behind. The country with the longest paid leave topped out at 420 days, while the length of time for countries with the lowest paid and unpaid leaves was around 12 weeks.

In Poland,  under the new rules, employees are entitled to as much as 52 weeks of leave in connection with maternity, consisting of three parts:

• twenty weeks of maternity leave; 
• six weeks of additional maternity leave;  
• twenty-six weeks of parental leave.
  The first part of the maternity leave (20 weeks) is mandatory, and must be provided to all employees giving birth, whether it is requested or not.

The additional maternity leave (6 weeks) and the parental leave (26 weeks) are provided only if an employee requests them. However, all such requests must be granted.

If the employee makes a request for the full 52 weeks of leave within fourteen days of delivery, she is entitled to 80 per cent of her salary throughout the period. However, if the application is filed later, the employee is entitled to full salary during maternity leave (20 weeks) and additional maternity leave (six weeks), and 60 percent of salary during parental leave.

The first fourteen weeks of leave are available only to the mother who has given birth.  The remainder of the maternity leave, additional maternity leave and parental leave, can be shared between the parents.

During the period of the maternity leave, additional maternity leave and parental leave, employees are entitled to special protection against dismissal. Their employment agreements may not be terminated by way of notice of termination during this period.

These new rules apply to leaves related to children born after December 31, 2012.

It sounds amazing! It really does…Kids are so important and it is so hard to keep everything together when you have to worry about 100 other things…I have to say that myself and my my husband have been very lucky to be able to be with our kids all the time. We have never had any babysitters or used a daycare. Our girls are always with both of us or either one of us! But I know that it is really hard for some families here is USA…If only maternity leave here would be a little more similar to most of the ones in Europe…