Extend maternity disability to 20 weeks

Mothers breastfeeding newborns 24/7 are often exhausted. The current disability rules in every state are 6 weeks for a vaginal birth and 8 weeks for a C.Section. This was because the rules were made when most women were homemakers. The time was aimed at the amount of time needed to heal the mom, not the needs of the infant. Now more than 85% of women are working, and most families need a monthly income to be able to cover the costs of living. Disability is a state-covered program, which each worker pays into. Extending it would help families stretch to let moms be home with their babies. The family leave act helps women not lose their jobs, but it only serves up to 12 weeks, and there is no provision of income. Disability income is lower than earned wages, but it is a help. There is data that babies whose moms can nurse 24/7 and be home have less hospitalizations for illness. Also, better maternal-infant bonding can give the babies a better start in life. Most dads and grandparents see how tired breastfeeding moms are, and wish we had a social solution to offer. Several years ago, we tried to bring about this change, but our state was unable to get out of a terrible deficit. We are more solvent now. It is worth considering making this change to help families give babies a better start in life.