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Longer paternity leave: why it matters and what the benefits are according to science

Among the innovations introduced in Italy regarding parental leave, there is also that of extending the duration of the mandatory paternity leave to 10 working days. The objective of the measures? Promote greater sharing in family life, overcoming the gender gap. Unfortunately, the data on the subject speak clearly: the pandemic has in fact brought to the surface some of the pre-existing gaps in the labor market, first of all that of gender, demonstrating how women have been penalized in terms of job losses.

A sobering figure is precisely that relating to working mothers: according to the 2020 Gender Report, the employment rate of women with children under the age of 5 is more than 25 percent lower than that of peers without children. The INPS data on the beneficiaries of parental leave for Covid-19 also outline a rather bitter picture: only 21% of fathers requested it against 79% of mothers.

In short, the care of children in our country still seems to be considered an exclusive task of women. With this in mind, the decision to extend mandatory paternity leave to 10 days represents, compared to the past, a first step forward, but the hope is that, also thanks to the now approved Family Act, others will follow.

Leading the way in this regard are virtuous examples such as Nestlé, which has chosen to extend paternity leave to three months. The Group together with the trade unions of food workers (FAI CISL, FLAI CGIL and UILA UIL) has in fact signed an agreement establishing the Nestlé Baby Leavea 12 weeks paid leave consecutive which can be used, on the occasion of the birth of a child or the adoption of a minor, the Pope worker or second caregiveraccording to an approach that intends to support the parenting process of all pairs of parents, regardless of their gender.

An important initiative, therefore, is e not only from a gender balance perspective because i benefits of a father present in the first months of life of the baby are many. Also supported by scientific evidence.

The advantages of a present dad

«The involvement and constant presence of the father in the first weeks of the child’s life offer numerous advantages to all the people who belong to the nucleus within which that child is welcomed – he explains Alberto PellaiDoctor, Psychotherapist and Researcher of the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Milan There are prospective studies carried out on the medium and long term which have, for example, shown how i children and teens who grew up with a father present have fewer behavioral problemsdemonstrate a better success in the school environment and can also count on more skills from a self-regulatory point of view “.

Add to this the benefits that the presence of the father it’s a shared parenting may have in the couple life. «The mutual support and cooperation between the two parents becomes a fundamental resource for the construction of the new balance of life and couple – explains Pellai – not to mention that the new parents who collaborate, both and immediately, in the care and growth of their child, can generate new balances also with respect to one’s own professional projectsthe”.

An important aid for the prevention of postpartum depression and gender violence

According to science, the presence of the father in the first months of the baby’s life would also have an important advantage for the well-being of the new mother, with a view to prevention of the risk of postpartum depression.

«It has been shown that the father plays an important role in emotional stabilizer – explains Pellai – returning home with the child involves a series of new tasks that must be taken care of, a factor that often provokes an anxious activation. Well, a father present in the first period of the newborn’s life has a role of protection from anxious activation of the mother and therefore reduces the possibility that the physiological baby blues, or that emotional discomfort that can affect mothers immediately after giving birth, is transformed into a real form of depression“.

Source: Vanity Fair

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