Paul and Carmen have lived and worked here for three years now. They’re thinking of starting a family. Would it be better to have their child back home in Oregon or in France? 

A complex question. Childbirth practices involve some major cultural differences and Carmen, in particular, may be happier having her baby in America (where presumably she’s got friends and family) than here in France. But there’s another side to the question: the level of available social benefits. If Carmen is enrolled under la Sécu, she will be entitled to 16 weeks maternity leave on full pay (this rises to 26 weeks for a third child); now fathers are allowed to take 11 days off on full pay. Compare this with the U.S. where standard maternity leave is 12 weeks… unpaid (although a relatively few companies are more generous than this).

From Reporter 100 - Dec 2003

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form