abstract: 'Background: Paid maternity leave (ML) has been associated with better

  health outcomes in mothers and new-borns. However, its protective role

  in mothers'' employment after childbirth remains unclear. Objective: To

  assess the association between paid ML and being employed 1-year after

  childbirth. Methods: As part of the INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA)

  cohort study, 507 Spanish women employed at 12th week of pregnancy, were

  asked about their employment status and job characteristics at 32nd week

  of pregnancy. One year after childbirth, they were re-interviewed about

  their employment status and if they had taken paid ML. Incidence of

  maternal employment 1-year after childbirth was estimated. Crude and

  adjusted associations with paid ML were assessed by logistic regression,

  and characterized by odds ratios (ORs) with associated 95\% CIs.

  Results: Information was obtained from 398 women. Of those, 290 (72.9\%)

  were employed 1-year after childbirth. Incidence of maternal employment

  was lower for those who: i) didn''t take paid ML, ii) were younger than

  27 years; iii) had temporary contract, iv) had part-time jobs, v)

  reported less-favoured familiar social class, and vi) left the job

  before 32 weeks of pregnancy. Being employed 1-year after childbirth was

  more common in those who took paid ML (OR 2.7, 95\% CI 1.6-4.5), also

  after adjusting for staying at work until advanced stages of pregnancy

  (OR 1.8, 95\% CI 1.0-3.1). Conclusions: Taking paid ML seems to be

  associated with higher maternal employment rates 1-year after

  childbirth. Therefore, our findings suggest that protection of maternity

  might positively influence women''s labour market participation after

  childbirth.'
affiliation: 'Vargas-Prada, S (Corresponding Author), Mutua ASEPEYO, Direcc Prestac,
  C Via Augusta 18 Segunda Planta, Barcelona 08006, Spain.

  Vargas-Prada, Sergio, Mutua ASEPEYO, Direcc Prestac, C Via Augusta 18 Segunda Planta,
  Barcelona 08006, Spain.

  Garcia, Ana M.; Ronda, Elena; Benavides, Fernando G., Univ Pompeu Fabra, Ctr Res
  Occupat Hlth CiSAL, Barcelona, Spain.

  Garcia, Ana M.; Ronda, Elena; Estarlich, Marisa; Ballester, Ferran; Benavides, Fernando
  G., CIBERESP, Madrid, Spain.

  Garcia, Ana M., Univ Valencia, Dept Med Prevent \& Salud Publ, Valencia, Spain.

  Ronda, Elena, Univ Alicante, Area Med Prevent \& Salud Publ, Alicante, Spain.

  Estarlich, Marisa; Ballester, Ferran, Univ Valencia, Univ Jaume 1, FISABIO, Joint
  Res Unit Epidemiol \& Environm Hlth, Valencia, Spain.

  Benavides, Fernando G., Hosp Mar, Med Res Inst, IMIM, Barcelona, Spain.'
author: Vargas-Prada, Sergio and Garcia, Ana M. and Ronda, Elena and Estarlich, Marisa
  and Ballester, Ferran and Benavides, Fernando G.
author-email: s.vargasprada.f@gmail.com
author_list:
- family: Vargas-Prada
  given: Sergio
- family: Garcia
  given: Ana M.
- family: Ronda
  given: Elena
- family: Estarlich
  given: Marisa
- family: Ballester
  given: Ferran
- family: Benavides
  given: Fernando G.
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.23749/mdl.v109i4.7226
files: []
issn: 0025-7818
journal: MEDICINA DEL LAVORO
keywords: Maternity leave; employment; return to work; labour-force participation
keywords-plus: 'PARENTAL LEAVE; HEALTH; EMPLOYMENT; INEQUALITIES; LENGTH; COUNTRIES;

  BENEFITS; POLICIES; IMPACT'
language: English
month: JUL-AUG
number: '4'
number-of-cited-references: '33'
orcid-numbers: 'Ronda, Elena/0000-0003-1886-466X

  Vargas-Prada, S/0000-0002-0713-5392

  Garcia, Ana M/0000-0001-9429-289X'
pages: 243-252
papis_id: 4eb82d9c54ee2c3e9eac53148374ce17
ref: Vargasprada2018influencepaid
researcherid-numbers: 'Ronda, Elena/E-6956-2012

  Garcia, Ana M/C-6966-2009

  Vargas-Prada, S/I-3065-2014

  '
times-cited: '2'
title: Influence of paid maternity leave on return to work after childbirth
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000443313200001
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '23'
volume: '109'
web-of-science-categories: Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health
year: '2018'