title: Maternity rights, work, and health in France and Italy.
abstract: This article focuses on the principles and the implementation of maternity rights (MR) in France and Italy. Results show that MR are well established in both countries, where about 80% of women employed during pregnancy were back to work 1 year after childbirth. Nevertheless, social inequalities were found. Less-educated women and those who had manual jobs or worked in small firms in the private sector or off-the-books were less likely to take an extended leave and to return to work. Despite differences in child care provisions, quality and accessibility of child care were common concerns for both French and Italian mothers. Employment was not related to any health problem in Italy 1 year after birth; in France, unemployed new mothers had high rates of psychological distress. Financial worries and marital problems were associated with several health problems in both countries. In conclusion, combining work and motherhood is possible in these 2 countries without too many costs for women, at least for the more privileged among them. However, this relative ease could vanish if social and economic conditions changed for the worse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Romito
authors.forename: Marie-Josephe
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Saurel-Cubizolles
authors.forename: Vicenta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Escriba-Aguir
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008429:Maternal Welfare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016524:Parental Leave / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014931:Women, Working / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data