Women in states and federal institutions that offer six months of paid maternity leave have shared the life-changing benefits of the policy, highlighting why it should be adopted nationwide, including by private organisations. They say the extended leave gave them enough time to recover, particularly after caesarean section deliveries, exclusively breastfeed their babies for the recommended first six months, and return to work healthier and more productive. JANET OGUNDEPO writes
The calm, sweet, and milky aura of a new baby was the scent a health worker, identified only as Abidemi, wore during the first few weeks after she resumed her duty post following the birth of her first child in March 2019.
While her ‘newborn perfume’ announced her arrival to her colleagues and elicited greetings and questions about the baby, Abidemi’s lips responded pleasantly, and her tired body sank into her seat.
Being a first-time mom, whose four-month-old was left in the hands of a caregiver at a Crèche, thoughts of her daughter’s welfare gained prominence in the health worker’s mind as she shifted through the day’s tasks.
Abidemi remembered that the first few months after her three-month maternity leave, as was the practice then, were filled with worry about her child, a full and leaking breast, tired eyes in need of good sleep, and a hungry belly that wanted more food.
