Majority of working dads in study took 2 weeks or less family leave

Research points to paternal leave as good for both dads and babies – yet just 36% of fathers reported taking more than two weeks of leave when their child was born, and 64% said they took two weeks or less, according to a new analysis.

Published in Pediatrics, the study is part of a first-of-its kind initiative that measured fathers’ behavior and health in the months before and after their children’s birth.

A representative sample of 261 men in the state of Georgia were asked whether they had jobs or took parental leave around the time of their infants’ birth in 2018 and 2019.

A subset of 240 men said they were employed during the pregnancy, and 73% of those men said they took parental leave. About half of the fathers took at least some paid leave, and 20% reported they took only unpaid leave, the study said.

Research has linked paternal leave to better parenting skills and healthier infants.

In the new analysis, 42.9% of the employed fathers said they wanted to take more time off around their baby’s birth. Fathers reported barriers such as inflexible work schedules, an inability to afford taking time off and not having accrued enough leave.

“What we found with this study is that if there was the availability of paid leave, fathers would have fewer barriers, and they’d take it,” Clarissa Simon, a research associate at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a co-author of the study, said in a news release. “Fathers can and should experience the pains and the joys of parenthood, and the best way to do that is if (they) take a break from work to spend time with their new baby without financial barriers or stressors like fear of job loss.”