The role of length of maternity leave in supporting mother–child interactions and attachment security among American mothers and their infants

• Main Authors: Raquel Plotka, Nancy A. Busch-Rossnagel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2018-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy
• Subjects: Attachment security; Maternity leave; Mother–child interactions
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40723-018-0041-6

Abstract Maternity leave policies are linked to early childhood education and care policies, and in many countries, the length of leave policies determines the need for early care programs. The length of maternity leave varies greatly among mothers in the U.S. because of the absence of a universal policy for paid leave. This study examined associations among length of maternity leave, mother–child interactions, and attachment among American working mothers and their infants. This study consisted of secondary data analysis, and the participants were drawn from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (n ≈ 3850). Controlling for SES, the findings of path analysis suggest that the length of maternity leave was directly linked to the quality of mother–child interactions and indirectly linked to attachment security. These results have implications for the development of family policies that support the needs of infants and mothers during the first months of life.