Right back to work after the baby is born – for many fathers this was the norm when they didn’t have enough vacation left. That is about to change: Federal Family Minister Anne Spiegel von den Grünen is planning that one parent – usually the father – can take an additional two weeks of paid leave after the birth of a child. Katharina Kerlen-Petri has been working as a freelance midwife in Berlin for 32 years – and she welcomes the decision.
SZ: What was your first thought when you heard about the plan to give new fathers a vacation?
Katharina Kerlen-Petri: Great pleasure! I think it’s great when the partners can be there from the start. They don’t just want to run the household, they want to get to know their newborns. It helps if not just one person takes care of the baby at night because the other has to get up early. This makes a lot of things easier for those who cannot take vacation so flexibly.
Does the measure reflect social development?
I think politics missed it a little. In a big city like Berlin, the fathers are committed, many have saved up their vacation so far, some take their parental leave right away, which is then missing later. It would be timely if more were to happen in terms of gender equality, for example in terms of pay. Many women do not return to work, or only partially, because it is not financially worthwhile. There is still a lot to be done.
Do you think that legislation also works the other way round, i.e. that it accelerates such a development?
Absolutely. It makes a difference whether a person as a pioneer in a company suspends two weeks or whether this is intended by the legislature. It’s like parental leave, it will become established. After the introduction of parental allowance in 2007, a lot has changed, many are more actively involved – even if not always as expected. Instead of using the two months for a vacation, the fathers could organize everyday life with their children when the mothers go back to work. That is where the real gain lies. That is why the postpartum time is so important.
Katharina Kerlen-Petri, 56, has been working as a freelance midwife in Berlin for 32 years.
(Photo: private)
In what way?
It is the phase when parents realize the changes the baby will mean for them. Men are often less able to imagine this when I talk to them about it beforehand. That has nothing to do with the fact that I don’t trust them to do it. It is a fallacy to believe that mothers know intuitively what a child needs and that fathers have to be taught how to do it. The following applies to both: Understanding the needs of a newborn takes time – two weeks is a good start.
What should couples consider in order to make good use of this time?
It is important to clarify the expectations in advance. This paid vacation is useless when she is in bed and has the feeling that nothing works here without me. And he feels in control. Allow the other to do things their own way. It has to be enough that at the end of the day vacuuming, shopping and laundry was done. Otherwise, in the end, some fathers will voluntarily forego this chance – and that would be a shame.
Does the term childbed still have any meaning in our society?
Today most people think that the puerperium is there to present the baby to relatives and friends. Instead of recovering from childbirth, mothers receive visitors and bake cakes. I hope that this measure will help establish a new puerperium culture. That parents dare to say again: We understand that you want to see the baby. But now we need some time for ourselves first.