Never have seen a better and consistent plan to care for moms, infants, and children. Papa leave is a great example of how to include fathers in bonding with their babies, older kids, and spouses. Thanks for a well written article, Ariana!
I agree, as an American it's crazy to look at this timeline and realize how extremely far behind American society is. But I think it's also helpful to see that while these kind of political and cultural changes don't happen overnight, once the baseline is established, it becomes easier to expand and build upon similar policies and programs. Thanks for reading, Brennan!
This is such a fascinating deep dive, Ariana, and I’m so appreciative of this historical context. I’ve been reading about the European labor movement’s push for on-site nurseries and breastfeeding breaks during the interwar years in other European countries and am interested to learn more about the Norwegian example, and to see these policies discussed in the context of other supportive workplace policies. Obviously American employers realized, at least in recent decades, that a pumping room was cheaper than an on-site nursery. But i’m now curious if there was ever a similar push by the labor movement over here!
Hi Caroline, thanks so much for reading and for your thoughts! I agree, it's so interesting as an American to learn more about the historical and ongoing power of labor movements and unions in Europe, especially since they have stagnated so much in the U.S. In Norway actually our paid breastfeeding rights haven't changed much (or at all?) since the early 20th century, which is surprising. Today, we get an hour of paid time to pump/breastfeed until the child turns one, though I believe if you work for the government or in a job under specific unions you can get two hours. It kind of makes sense, since the most pumping time is needed when babies are a lot younger and you're producing more milk. Most moms here take at least six months of paid leave, though you can have up to almost 10, as I did, meaning that I didn't really need more than an hour a day to pump when I went back to work. There is a movement here though arguing that it's not enough and needs to be expanded, which is also interesting - the culture of rights and laws for working parents here is constantly being challenged and evolving, as I wrote in the essay.
Why are we like this? I’m moving!🇳🇴
Never have seen a better and consistent plan to care for moms, infants, and children. Papa leave is a great example of how to include fathers in bonding with their babies, older kids, and spouses. Thanks for a well written article, Ariana!
So helpful to dive into the specifics, like you said. The timeline is mind expanding as an American. 🤯
I agree, as an American it's crazy to look at this timeline and realize how extremely far behind American society is. But I think it's also helpful to see that while these kind of political and cultural changes don't happen overnight, once the baseline is established, it becomes easier to expand and build upon similar policies and programs. Thanks for reading, Brennan!
Thank you for this. Having grown up in Norway but lived and raised my kids in the US, I am blown away by this. Thank you for sharing!
This is such a fascinating deep dive, Ariana, and I’m so appreciative of this historical context. I’ve been reading about the European labor movement’s push for on-site nurseries and breastfeeding breaks during the interwar years in other European countries and am interested to learn more about the Norwegian example, and to see these policies discussed in the context of other supportive workplace policies. Obviously American employers realized, at least in recent decades, that a pumping room was cheaper than an on-site nursery. But i’m now curious if there was ever a similar push by the labor movement over here!
Hi Caroline, thanks so much for reading and for your thoughts! I agree, it's so interesting as an American to learn more about the historical and ongoing power of labor movements and unions in Europe, especially since they have stagnated so much in the U.S. In Norway actually our paid breastfeeding rights haven't changed much (or at all?) since the early 20th century, which is surprising. Today, we get an hour of paid time to pump/breastfeed until the child turns one, though I believe if you work for the government or in a job under specific unions you can get two hours. It kind of makes sense, since the most pumping time is needed when babies are a lot younger and you're producing more milk. Most moms here take at least six months of paid leave, though you can have up to almost 10, as I did, meaning that I didn't really need more than an hour a day to pump when I went back to work. There is a movement here though arguing that it's not enough and needs to be expanded, which is also interesting - the culture of rights and laws for working parents here is constantly being challenged and evolving, as I wrote in the essay.