Premature delivery of your baby is already very difficult – but delivering your baby too early and having to go straight back to work while the baby is in the NICU makes it a million times more difficult.
Unfortunately, 26-year-old new mom Rebecca Schumard had to do that. When her daughter Eden unexpectedly became pregnant at just 27 weeks old, she had to return to work just 12 days – less than two weeks – after giving birth.

The United States still does not have a national paid parental leave program. According to BBC Worklife, only 21% of US workers can take paid time off through their employer. However, most people who work for a company with more than 50 employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. As you can imagine, not all parents can take 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

Because Eden was born so early, it was important for Rebecca to be able to take part of her maternity leave with her daughter after leaving the NICU. Until then, she had to work to pay the medical bills.

I recently did a heartbreaking TikTok video on this topic that attracted a lot of attention. The video shows Rebecca crying while trying to give birth, with an audio commentary on how difficult it is to give birth and to pump without her newborn baby feeling guiltless and insanely upset. She ended the video by saying, “This. Its. America.”

 

Check it out below:

@edensmomma10_12 #nicu #postpartum #ppd #preemie #americanhealthcare #maternity ♬ original sound – Rabs

Terrible, isn’t it? We feel terrible for this woman! And so are most of the TikTok worlds that have submitted comments in support of it.

One wrote: “This country does nothing for the children.” “You prioritize work and that’s all.”

Someone else sympathized and said, “I’m so sorry.” “Healthcare and maternity leave in the United States is despicable and inhumane. I’m so sorry.”

The video also alerted viewers to how other countries deal with maternity leave, which can last anywhere from 1.5 to 3 full years depending on where you live.

Don’t worry – the story has a happy ending. Thanks to the support of social media, Rebecca has gotten a lot of help from generous strangers. In her follow-up video, she thanked everyone who had helped her and added again that short maternity leave in this country needed to be resolved. Check it out below!

@edensmomma10_12 Thank you all so very much 🥰 #nicu #postpartum #ppd #preemie #premature #prematurebaby #pumping #medela #americanhealthcare #FMLA #maternityleave #familyleave #Eden ♬ original sound – Rabs

How much maternity leave do you think is fair?

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