I’m writing to express overwhelming support for paid family and medical leave in Maine.

Maine children and families need policies like paid leave offering time to bond, establish feeding and recover from the birthing process. With access to 12 weeks of paid leave, infants are more likely to attend checkups and get immunized and are breastfed twice as long by parents who choose to. Paid leave decreases postpartum depression and promotes shared child care responsibilities.

I returned to work within one month of the birth of my sons for lack of extended leave policies. As a pediatrician, I knew the benefits of kangaroo care and singing, talking and reading to newborns and was fortunate to have job protection. However, many families are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of unpaid leave. Ninety-five percent of low-wage workers can’t access paid leave, so unexpected illness or injury could mean lost income, employment and health insurance. Paid family and medical leave promotes health equity and offers all Mainers a safety net to recover without slipping into unemployment or poverty.

Maine’s pediatricians know families urgently need a paid family and medical leave program so they can be fully present for life-changing events such as a new child. Please urge your state legislators to support paid leave in Augusta; and when you see someone this Election Day gathering signatures for a potential paid leave referendum, please sign it.

Laura Blaisdell
president, Maine Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
South Portland

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