That did not please one member of the Governor's Council, Edward O'Brien. In recent decades, what could be called working pregnancies have become commonplace. More women are staying on the job for nine months, then dashing from the office to the delivery room. Many new mothers like Swift feel increasing pressure to stay connected to work, beginning just days after giving birth. Any kind of leave creates difficulty, including vacation.
Boundaries are necessary.
It's not hard to imagine similar figures applying to those who do not take all of their maternity leave. Galinsky notes that new mothers in positions of authority and responsibility tend to go back to work earlier. One man I know whose wife was a rising star in a New York bank recalls the pressure she felt after the birth of their third child to return long before her three months of leave were up. By law, employees in companies with 50 or more workers are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. But in practice, many women cannot afford to stay away.