Maternity protection is crucial for preventing and alleviating poverty and vulnerability, enhancing the health, nutrition and overall well-being of mothers and newborns, fostering gender equality and promoting a dignified life for all from the very start. It encompasses provisions such as income support, access to maternal healthcare, paid maternity leave, time to breastfeed, safeguards against discrimination in employment, parental leave, right to return to work and childcare options upon returning to work. While these are mainly labour protection measures, this section focuses on maternity protection measures pertaining to social protection, that is, maternity cash benefits and free maternity care. Social protection systems are essential for minimizing the adverse impacts of the climate crisis on pregnant and childbearing women and their children.
[World Social Protection Report 2024–26. Flagship Report, International Labour Office, September 2024.]Recommended Posts
