Analysis | China’s had miscarriage leave since the 50s, but women still face stigma
- ‘Miscarriages are a natural and inevitable process of pregnancy. They should be normalised,’ gender studies professor says
- Despite the legislation, women in China are often hesitant to take leave following a miscarriage due to stigma in the workplace, founder of women’s rights initiative says
New Zealand on March 25 approved laws to give couples three days of paid leave from work following a miscarriage or stillbirth, joining a growing list of nations that have approved such legislation.
China and India have had such laws since the 1950s and 60s, but New Zealand’s leave provisions stand out for also covering the mother’s partner, including former spouses if they are the biological parent. It also applies to those seeking to adopt or have a child through surrogacy.
Being one of the earliest countries to offer leave provisions on miscarriage, China has to thank its generation of feminists in the 1950s, who fought for women’s rights in the early days of the People’s Republic of China, said Dong Yige, an assistant professor on gender and sexuality studies at the University at Buffalo in New York.
“Miscarriages are a natural and inevitable process of pregnancy. They should be normalised. As long as you are pregnant, there is a chance of miscarriage. Your benefit and well-being after a miscarriage should be guaranteed,” she said.
“We cannot define one being more valuable than the other simply because the result of pregnancy is a baby born, while a miscarriage does not produce anything except for the woman suffering. Both processes are part of a holistic package of women as a reproducer.”