Bongiwe Nkomazana on gender

THE one thing that is a blessing but can disrupt your whole life plan is having a baby.

I do not care how much of super women we might think we are but a newborn will slow you down. In fact a baby will halt you to a complete stop.

It is impossible to work and tend to a newborn at the same time.

I remember when I had my baby, I would have plans to get chores done but in-between the frequent feeds, diaper changes, cries and my exhaustion nothing would ever be done.

Now imagine having to wake up and go to the office to chase your career goals simultaneously.

It is a lot but there is a way in which we can be both good mothers to our new babies and career women.

The solution is called maternity leave!

Maternity leave is a period of absence from work granted to a mother before and after the birth of her child. In Zimbabwe, women are generally given 98 days of paid leave.

During this period, a woman gets her normal work benefits and entitlements, including her rights to seniority or advancement and the accumulation of pension rights.

These must continue uninterrupted in the manner in which they would have continued had she not gone on such a leave.

Her period of service may not be considered as having been interrupted, reduced or broken by the exercise of her right to maternity leave.

This is wonderful to have but is it adequate?

Ninety eight days sounds like a long time on paper but in actual fact it is just a little over 3 months.

A three-month-old baby is still brand spanking new and still needs their mother’s perfect presence. It is still adjusting to life on Earth and its mother remains the best person to protect it from the weather elements, germs and any kind of harm.

For example, at three months old, a baby consumes about 200 to 250 millilitres of milk per feeding and a feeding happens eight to nine times per day. We can talk about feeding the baby formula whilst mom is at work because that is what most of us resort to.

However, continuing to breast feed baby the right amounts of mother’s milk provides that needful nutrition, it strengthens their bond and soothes baby.

My point is that three months is just too early to separate a baby from its mother and it is the baby’s right to have access to all of this.

On top of that, the world has become busy, expensive and an evil place.

It is not like in the past where women could rely on family to take care of their young children.

Now, we are lucky if we even have family close by because we are scattered all over the globe.

Plus, it is difficult to trust a nanny fully.

We have all heard and seen the terrifying things that these strangers we hire to watch our children in our absence do.

Also, with the way things are economically, getting help is just plain expensive.

The driving factor for how maternity leave is set up and how women go on to receive it is money of course.

It comes up more expensive for an employer to have an employee away but on a full salary and have her replacement on a salary too.

With all these factors, women are cornered to go along with it and leave their new born babies for the office. After weighing out the pros and cons of this decision, a mother finds that she needs that pay check now more than ever because of the baby and it is the law after all.

The good thing about the law is that it can be reviewed to better serve its citizens. It may come off as though the mother is the main focus of this subject but it really is the child because a happy, healthy mother results in a happy, healthy baby and vice versa.

This brings us back to the talk around gender equality thus an equal playing field for both men and women as far as access to rights and opportunities is concerned.

Men do not fall pregnant and give birth, so that hurdle is non-existent for them.

This immediately puts them at an advantage in terms of setting the pace towards reaching career goals.

Men do not have to stress about whether a baby is crying at home or have to act normal at work when in fact their boobies are swollen and painful because they are full of milk whereas women do. As individuals we all have different stresses that could hinder our performance at work and surely we cannot address each and everyone of them.

However, if an issue affects a majority then it holds ground for further investigation.

In my opinion, if maternity leave would be lengthened it would solve a lot of concerns for the working woman.

It would allow her to nurture her baby past the critical months and it would give her time to set everything up before her return to work, so weaning and day-care would be viable options at that point.

This would give her peace of mind making her more focused and productive at work thereby, levelling the playing field for her and her counterparts.

In countries like Canada, new mothers can take between 17 to 52 weeks of leave from their jobs depending on the length of their employment history and the hours they have worked.

Their employers are required to accept them back into their jobs at the end of the mandated leave at the same rate of pay with the same employment benefits.

Imagine that…a whole year with your baby and you still have a job after!

I am sure it has a lot to do with their well performing economy etc but Zimbabwe could mimic a thing or two on the issue. Maybe that is why their economy is so good.

The fact that their women are fulfilled in terms of being allowed to be there for their babies adequately and then being motivated to step it up at work and contribute towards a thriving economy.

It is the little things that result in significant changes.

I hope this opens up the conversation around the issue. Next week we will talk about paternity leave.

l You are encouraged to share and discuss your views, opinions, experiences, and opinions on this issue via Twitter handle @bongi_nkomazana