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Can You Have Too Much Maternity Leave? In Europe, Maybe

  • Optimal time off is between six months and a year, experts say
  • Longer leaves stunt women’s professional advancement, careers
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If President Trump keeps his promise, the U.S. will join the rest of the industrialized world and provide for some kind of paid maternity leave.

As explained on the campaign trail, Trump would give new mothers six weeks off with pay -- less than the minimum 14 weeks recommended by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization and far less than what professional women get in Western Europe.