New Zealand brings in bereavement leave for miscarriages and stillbirths
Legislation allowing three days’ leave applies to parents, their partners, and parents planning to have a child through adoption or surrogacy
New Zealand’s parliament has voted unanimously to give mothers and their partners three days of bereavement leave after a miscarriage or stillbirth.
Labour MP Ginny Andersen, who presented the bill, said it would allow parents to come to terms with their loss without being forced to use up their sick leave entitlements. “The grief that comes with miscarriage is not a sickness; it is a loss,” she said. “That loss takes time – time to recover physically and time to recover mentally; time to recover with a partner”.