The U.S. is last on the list of 41 countries -- not all of them high income -- in providing paid leave for new parents.
In some situations, women may take unpaid maternity leave with a return to their job guaranteed under the Family And Medical Leave Act.
The 40 countries that mandate better benefits than the U.S. give at least two months of paid parental leave. Many give much more, according to a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), analyzed b the Pew Research Center.
According to Pew:
The OECD statistics classify the total amount of leave available to new parents into three categories: 1) maternity leave, available to mothers around the time of a birth or adoption; 2) paternity leave, available to fathers around the time of a birth or adoption; and 3) parental leave, which is typically available after maternity or paternity leave. In some cases, parental leave is specifically allocated for mothers only or for fathers only. In other cases, it is available to either parent.
In many countries parents on leave get their full salaries. In other countries they get a percentage of their salaries.