Table 1.
Maternity leave benefits among a representative sample of women in the United States (n = 882), unadjusted estimates
| N | % | Received paid maternity leave (n = 858)a |
Mean number of weeks of paid maternity leave received (n = 854)a |
Mean % of salary received during maternity leave (n = 850)a |
Mean number of weeks of (paid and unpaid) maternity leave took (n = 611)b |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (%) | p † | (Mean, SD) | p † | (Mean, SD) | p † | (Mean, SD) | p † | |||
| Full sample | 882 | – | 41 | 3.3(.23) | 31.1 (2.1) | 10.0(0.4) | ||||
| Age (years) | ** | ** | * | * | ||||||
| 18–29 | 499 | 54 | 34 | 2.4 (.2) | 25.2 (2.5) | 9.0 (.5) | ||||
| 30–34 | 258 | 28 | 45 | 3.7 (.4) | 35.0 (3.9) | 10.5 (.5) | ||||
| 35+ | 125 | 18 | 53 | 5.1 (.7) | 41.8 (5.5) | 12.2 (1.5) | ||||
| Education | ** | ** | ** | * | ||||||
| ≥High school | 132 | 36 | 29 | 2.3 (.4) | 18.8 (3.8) | 8.8 (.8) | ||||
| ≥College | 615 | 54 | 44 | 3.5 (.3) | 34.7 (2.5) | 10.4 (.6) | ||||
| <College | 135 | 10 | 60 | 5.1 (.7) | 53.1 (5.6) | 11.5 (.6) | ||||
| Race/ethnicity | ** | – | – | – | ||||||
| White non-hispanic | 600 | 63 | 38 | 3.1 (.3) | 29.8 (2.5) | 9.7 (.4) | ||||
| Black non-hispanic | 119 | 13 | 57 | 4.4 (.7) | 44.7 (5.9) | 11.1 (1.3) | ||||
| Hispanic | 114 | 21 | 39 | 3.4 (.7) | 31.6 (41.5) | 10.7 (1.2) | ||||
| Other | 36 | 3 | 18 | 1.0(.4) | 27.9 (4.9) | 7.9 (.8) | ||||
| Missing | 13 | – | 65 | 4.5 (1.2) | 56.1 (13.3) | 7.5 (.9) | ||||
| Health insurance | ** | ** | ** | – | ||||||
| Private only | 639 | 71 | 49 | 4.0 (.3) | 37.7 (2.5) | 10.5 (.5) | ||||
| Otherc | 224 | 26 | 16 | 1.2 (.3) | 11.5 (2.2) | 8.8 (.7) | ||||
| Missing | 17 | 3 | 38 | 2.8 (1.3) | 36.5 (15.8) | 9.3 (2.5) | ||||
| Partnership status | ** | ** | ** | – | ||||||
| Partner | 834 | 94 | 43 | 3.4 (.2) | 32.7 (2.2) | 10.2 (.4) | ||||
| No partner | 46 | 6 | 16 | 1.3 (.5) | 9.3 (3.5) | 8.1 (1.1) | ||||
| Missing | 2 | – | 0 | – | – | 5.5 (.6) | ||||
| Family income per year | ** | ** | ** | ** | ||||||
| <$35,000 | 262 | 28 | 20 | 1.5 (.3) | 12.8 (2.2) | 8.4 (.7) | ||||
| $35,000–$75,000 | 394 | 37 | 42 | 3.1 (.3) | 30.0 (2.9) | 9.2 (.4) | ||||
| >$75,000 | 168 | 35 | 55 | 4.8 (.5) | 46.7 (4.4) | 12.2 (.9) | ||||
| Missing | 58 | – | 35 | 2.0 (.9) | 23.6 (5.6) | 8.6 (1.1) | ||||
| Region | – | * | * | – | ||||||
| East | 173 | 20 | 51 | 4.6 (.6) | 41.0 (5.0) | 12.1 (1.2) | ||||
| Midwest | 246 | 25 | 45 | 3.6 (.5) | 34.3 (4.1) | 9.5 (.5) | ||||
| South | 283 | 32 | 35 | 2.5 (.3) | 28.4 (3.4) | 8.9 (.4) | ||||
| West | 180 | 23 | 35 | 2.9 (.6) | 22.8 (4.1) | 10.6 (1.2) | ||||
| Employment status | ** | ** | ** | – | ||||||
| Full time | 632 | 73 | 50 | 4.0 (.3) | 38.6 (2.5) | 10.3 (.5) | ||||
| Part time | 250 | 27 | 14 | 1.2 (.3) | 9.3 (2.2) | 9.1 (.6) | ||||
Sample is drawn from the Listening to Mothers II Survey and excludes women who did not work during pregnancy or were self-employed
p values calculated using a Pearson’s Chi2 test (for binary paid leave) and a global F statistic (for continuous maternity leave benefits)
Sample is 858 women who were employed during pregnancy and had data about whether they received paid leave
Sample is 611 women who were employed during pregnancy and had returned to work by the time of the survey
Other includes public insurance (n = 222) and out-of-pocket payment for maternity related healthcare costs (n = 2)
Significant differences in leave benefits between categories of socio-demographic factors at α = 0.05
Significance at α = 0.01
– No significant differences