Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns of First-Time Mothers: 1961–2003
"A little over half of all American women with a child under 1 year of age were in
the labor force in 2004.1 A child’s birth often requires changes in a mother’s
work schedule.2 This report examines trends in maternity leave and the employment patterns of women who gave birth to their first child between January 1961 and December 2003."