Finland is giving new parents more time to spend with their babies. Finnish government has decided to give mothers and fathers seven months of parental leave. This means Finland will almost double amount of its maternity leave and paternity leave. new Family Leave Policy will give 164 days to each parent. This is about seven months. Parents can also transfer up to 69 of their own days to their partner. This means it is possible for one parent to take nine months of parental leave. For single parents, Finland is giving all 328 days to mother or father. Finland's current parental leave gives four months for maternity leave, and two months for fathers.
Finland's government said new rules were necessary to help young families. Finland's Minister of Social Affairs and Health explained why country is introducing new rules. She said: "The model guarantees the child place at centre of family benefits, and it promotes wellbeing and gender equality." It will also help to increase country's declining birth rate. The number of babies born in Finland has dropped for past nine years. Last year, Finland had lowest number of babies born in country since 1868. Finland's neighbour Sweden has most generous leave policy, offering 240 days per parent. The USA has no national paid leave for mothers or fathers.
