Today more than ever before American women are finding themselves in the workplace and trying to balance the responsibilities of motherhood and the responsibilities of employment. In having to work mothers face many problems that could be easily resolved by more policies , regulations, and involvement of the federal government. With the revision of such policies as health care, maternity and family leaves, and childcare children of today would be better equipped for the twenty-first century.
Healthcare is one such problem facing the soon to be American working mother of today. With the average cost of a normal vaginal childbirth upwards of $4,500 a substantial insurance policy is necessary (Kidding 193). However, until 1978 when the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed there was very rarely any assistance offered through typical insurance policies found in the workplace. This new act did require that maternity insurance had to be as generous as the disability insurance offered on the same plan but the act did not set a direct policy on the availability or cost changes of the insurance.
Diagram of US Federal Government and American Unio...
The western front of the United States Capitol. Th...
English: Harper Collins Publishers Publishing offi...Issues and responsibilities of cost and availability were pushed from the legislation of the federal government onto that of state governments (Kidding 194). This pushing away of responsibility by the United States government makes mandated maternity benefits unlikely to greatly or quickly increase. The state of Vermont has come to realize the problem however and has passed some state regulation like many others. This regulation (89-1 maternity coverage) states that insurance for women should be comparable in price and in coverage including maternity benefits. Vermont regulation 89-1 goes on to make exceptions on coverage during pregnancy illness, birth complications, cesarean section births, and miscarriages (Vermont). These exceptions are unfair and in my opinion go against the whole concept of having insurance in the first...