Maher Advocating for Paid Family Leave to Cover Parents Who Experience Stillbirths

Assemblyman Brian Maher (R,C-Walden) joined a group of bipartisan legislators and advocates calling for the inclusion of stillbirth as a qualifying event for paid family leave in the state. The assemblyman is signing on as a sponsor of Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar’s bill so parents who experience the roughly 1,500 stillbirths that occur in New York each year will have time to grieve and physically recover (A.2880).

“Every year, thousands of parents experience the loss of a child through stillbirth and there is no time allotted for them for healing and recovery in New York’s paid family leave. I am proud to join my colleague from across the aisle, Assemblywoman Rajkumar, to sponsor legislation to extend paid family leave to these parents,” said Maher, who is a member of the Committee on Children and Families. “It is the right thing to do for these families who need support and care during their time of bereavement.”

A stillbirth is a loss of pregnancy after 20 weeks of gestation. Stillbirths are traumatic and require a course of medical treatment similar to a live birth. Often parents are at high risk for depression, anxiety, and post traumatic syndrome disorder (PTSD).