Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and we want to wish all the Moms out there a belated Happy Mother’s Day! Here is a brief look at some of the laws, protections, and issues surrounding working moms:

• The Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996 (the Newborns’ Act), signed into law on September 26, 1996, requires plans that offer maternity coverage to pay for at least a 48-hour hospital stay following childbirth (96-hour stay in the case of a cesarean section).
• Nearly three-quarters of all mothers are in the labor force. Even among mothers with very young children, more than sixty percent are in the labor force.
• Employers are required to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” Employers are also required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”
• Between 1969 and 1996, the number of working married women with children increased by 84 percent.
• The FMLA entitles eligible employees to take FMLA leave for the birth of a son or daughter, and to care for the newborn child, and for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care.
• The mother is entitled to FMLA leave for any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, for prenatal care or for her own serious health condition following the birth of a child.
• An expectant mother may take FMLA leave before the birth of the child, for prenatal care, or if her condition makes her unable to work.