I know I'm preaching to the choir here but our species and society relies on women to give birth to the next generation which is arguably THE single most important job humanly possible. It bogles my mind and completely defies all logic that this role is either completely disregarded by employers or it is considered a short term disability!?!? How little respect to we collectively have as a society for the future of this species and our offspring? Supporting mothers and families to give their infants the best possible start in life is a very small thing we can all agree to do for the betterment of the entire world.

I'm getting too philosophical here, but how could this be any more short-sighted? In the grand scheme of things is it really that important that new mothers come back to work straight after giving birth or is there time best spent with the child they just gave birth to?!?! Imagine if mothers of other mammal species were expected to desert their offspring shortly after giving birth? Mass extinction in a few generations, no doubt.