America! Land of the... dead babies?

So, because I am a mid-western American who will be needing maternity leave in a month or less, I've been studying up. & let me tell you, the results I've found are atrocious. First, I want to talk about maternity leave.

In the United States, employers are required to give up to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. HOWEVER, different companies have different policies. Some will only allow 6 weeks unpaid for a vaginal birth, & 8 weeks unpaid for a c-section. Some will only allow up to 12 unpaid weeks if you've been an employee for so long. Some will pay you during maternity leave, but most won't.

Now, this doesn't seem UN reasonable at all. That is, until you learn what other countries are offering their new mothers.

In France woman are required to take 16 weeks of mandatory paid maternity leave. This time allotment is increased when a woman has her second baby. Both men & woman are allowed up to 3 years of unpaid maternity leave with job security. The French government also offers many benefits, such as financial supplements with families that have 3 or more children, and low-cost daycare & nanny services.

FRANCE VS USA: Uhm... mandatory 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, and then low-cost daycare & nanny services when it's over? Wow. That sure would making having children more of a joy & less of a stressful hassle.

In England mothers are entitled to 26 weeks off at full pay (the government offers to pay 90% while the employer pays the rest) and fathers are entitled to 2 weeks off at full pay. Other benefits from the government include tax breaks, & the ability to create your own work hours to better fit your home life.

ENGLAND VS USA: Nevermind France... 26 weeks off at full pay? & daddy gets to stay home for 2 weeks to help out? & you're telling me after my 26 weeks, I get to create my own hours so that I can work around my child's daycare? That makes making a family completely worth it.

In Canada mothers who have worked at least 600 hours in the previous year may receive up to 15 weeks of paid maternity leave.

CANADA VS USA: Even our neighbors to the north are getting a better deal..

In Cuba woman are entitled to 18 weeks of fully paid leave. They are offered an additional 40 weeks at 60% of their salary & job security. Bother mommy & daddy are allowed to take 12 weeks to 1 year off with 60% salary pay and job security. The daddy gets that option, whether or not he & mommy are married.

CUBA VS USA: & even in places that we think we'd never want to live, they still get better benefits.

My maternity leave benefits include 6 weeks of unpaid leave. Plus, I may claim him for tax benefits next year.

Now let's compare this information with infant mortality rates. This is graded on how many deaths there are per 1000 live births in that country.

(Ranking is based on 1 - Singapore with 2.31 deaths/1000 live births through 224 - Angola with 180.21 deaths/1000 live births)

France
3.33 ranking @ 8/224

England
4.85 ranking @ 32/224

Canada
5.04 ranking @ 36/224

Cuba
5.82 ranking @ 44/224

United States
6.26 ranking @ 46/224


Does anyone else find this evidence to be the least bit consequential? I certainly wouldn't call my findings amusing, but I definitely scoffed when I saw that even South Korea ranks significantly higher than the U.S.

Thoughts?