Closed petition Increase SMP by 4 weeks at 90% pay when a baby is born before 37 weeks

Closed on 24 May 2021

The first month of a baby's life is much harder if he is born prematurely. I had the need to extend an extra month of my leave to take care of my baby, as the first weeks were crucial for the development requirements she had to face. This measure already exists in other European countries

The first month of a baby's life is always difficult and a big moment of adjustment to the new life for both the baby and the parents. With a premature baby, it is even harder as they need extra help and time to cope with the extra development requirements that they should have achieved in uterus. It takes at least 8 weeks for a parent to get used how to deal with their premature baby and quite often these babies spend their first weeks in NICU away from their parents with little time together. An additional 4 weeks of 90% paid maternity leave, as it already happens in other European countries, would help these parents to cope with situation.