Maternity, paternity leave rates in the U.S. remain low

By Shereen Lehman (Reuters Health) - The proportion of U.S. women taking maternity leave has remained about the same for the past two decades, according to a new study. Laws mandating paid leave in four states and an expanding national economy have had no impact on the proportion of working women who take maternity leave, which remains at about 678 per 10,000 births, an economist reports in the American Journal of Public Health. “The U.S. economy has expanded dramatically since the middle