Saga To Offer Employees Paid Leave On The Birth Of A Grandchild

just hope for those women like me that having people around doesn't become the norm

A strange and paradoxical comment when you think that in years (centuries) gone by women would “lie-in” for a week or a fortnight, and were not expected to lift a finger for their baby or themselves. Fathers kept clear of this female-dominated area, apart from the necessity of earning a living of course.
If you were rich, you had a nursery maid followed by a nanny, if poor, your mum or Nan took over the running of everything
I think todays mums are much more independent and self sufficient. Many have successful careers and “hands-on” partners and pride themselves on coping.
As to being released from hospital before Sept itches or clips were removed - I presume you didn’t do that yourself? .

Sept itches sound nasty. I meant “stitches” of course!

I came home from hospital, in the 70’s, and looked after the new baby and my toddler myself. My husband had to work. Granny visited, but didn’t need to help. Why would grandparents need to be paid?

Maybemaw

These days, most women are discharged 3 days post C-section. (Sometimes two if they are itching to go home and have had a previous section, occasionally four or more if there are issues.)

Staples/sutures are usually removed on Post-op Day 7, typically as part of a follow-up appointment with the OB.

At least, that's how it was when I was providing postpartum care and teaching maternity nursing.

Silly.

agnurse

Maybemaw

These days, most women are discharged 3 days post C-section. (Sometimes two if they are itching to go home and have had a previous section, occasionally four or more if there are issues.)

Staples/sutures are usually removed on Post-op Day 7, typically as part of a follow-up appointment with the OB.

At least, that's how it was when I was providing postpartum care and teaching maternity nursing.

That would be why I got my 7/8 days then! I certainly appreciated it as I was in a lot of pain and even getting out of bed was painful. Getting over a GA can also take a couple of days. I didnt see it as needing support with my baby- just welcome rest before WW2 kicked off with my 2 year old!

i can see some DILs looking nervously at this ...

It's their money and they can do what they want.
But I'm curious how they will prove the pregnancy. Women need to show a MATB1 form.
What about families where the relationship is estranged?

welbeck, I can certainly see why any new parent would look at this nervously. I can also see why a new parent would look at this with delight. It all depends on the individual family really.

Bibbity: I don't think estrangement makes a difference in this. If you are estranged then it is highly unlikely that the grandparent would be helping out after a birth, making it a moot point. And if the estranged grandparent takes the time off work to help knowing that they are estranged, that is on them.

At first I rolled my eyes at it, but after thinking more, why should it bother me? If a new parent welcomes help from a Grandparent, then it is very helpful that a Grandparent would be able to take leave in order to do so.

I had 3 cesarean sections between 1977 and 1980. I managed perfectly ok looking after my very young children. Husband took a weeks leave each time. My daughters have both had cesarean sections....youngest 4 and eldest 2. Both have managed perfectly ok with husbands taking a bit of leave. So my answer to the question is that it would be an utter waste of money. We are becoming too much of a take take take society.

I hope Saga customers are not paying for it - their cruise holidays are expensive enough already.

Of course they are paying for it. Saga must have a good profit margin to be able to offer it.

The pet food manufacturers must have a good profit margin too, to offer pupternity leave.

Does it cover great grand parents too?

I think it's a lovely gesture but don't see it as something we must have as a society. Quite useful though if Mum is struggling when Dad returns to work. As for the puppy leave, I don't think a week is enough and I question whether you should be getting a puppy if you are working so it is going to be left on its own. Mind you, with a dog food company which promotes unhealthy eating for animals rather than a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food for dogs, what can you expect!

I'm with you on this. Had to turn off Jeremy Vine when he did a session on this. I think the world is going mad. How did our parents manage eh?

Reply to Calendargirl.....

Ellegran. Exactly, you can't leave a dog all day and especially not a puppy.

I had C sections forty years ago. Yes, we stayed in the hospital longer but when I went in for the second { Christmas time] no help was offered by either set of parents" We were silly for having a baby at that time".
DH had to take leave to look after the toddler while I was in.My little toddler was my helper and the first day back at work DH had to sleep at work. We muddled through and somehow although most of us were younger than when couples have babies these days we appeared to get on with more maturity,

I think it would be a ridiculous idea,
when I had my children there was no such thing as paternity leave so the dad had to take annual leave and when he went back to work the mother got on with things.
I think new mums expect to much help these days.
The couple should be left alone with their newborn to make their own mistakes and bond as a family like we all did

MaybeMaw, I take it OB is the obstetrician? Follow-up appointments with an obstetrician don’t happen in the UK unless there is a major problem. The midwife would see to this. And the majority of Caesarean wounds these days are closed with a dissolvable suture, so stitches or clips wouldn’t need removal. Caesarean incisions tend to be much neater in most cases than they were years ago, along the bikini line, less painful than an up and down incision for the mother to get over.
At the risk of getting into an “I had it worse than you” bidding situation, having been in hospital for 8 days after my Caesarean, back at home, husband and daughter were both ill with high temperatures 2 days in, he had a bad cold, she hadn’t read the book that says newborns don’t get ear infections. So I ended up driving with her a few miles to the hospital. Only found out afterwards that car insurance is void if you drive so soon after a major op. Mum would have happily helped but wasn’t arriving till the next day to see GGD1, and wasn’t well or mobile herself and well past retirement , that’s the trouble with having first baby at 40! MIL had died.

The naysayers remind me of older women on the bus who used to complain about today's mums bringing baby buggies onboard.

Muttering, in my day we used to have to fold-up the pushchair or walk, blah blah. So much resentment that things have progressed.

Saga and Mars are private companies and if they want to give a bit of a bonus to any grandparent employees, what's the problem?

Forgive me if others have already said this, but some DDs and DILs might regard help from DM or DMIL as interference. DIL in particular might prefer help from her own mother. Also if offering help I suggest that this would be more useful after the DS or DSIL has gone back to work. New families in particular need time to themselves, and second or subsequent children are not such a shock to the system!

Either way, I think that to make the offer and then back off is always the best way. Then they want help they can ask for it. I have a great relationship with my DIL because I don't push help on her.

I don’t recall referring to an OB Oofy and my experience is over 40 years ago. (1973,75, 77 and 81)
Many aspects of post-natal care have changed over the last 40+ years, as indeed they did in our mothers’ day.
However, I still don’t think anybody should criticise mothers today and it is perhaps less a case of a matter of “coping with a baby” as of post- natal care for the mum.
If grans choose to pitch in and help, good luck to them

Whilst I can see the advantage of grandparents being given paid leave can I ask who will do their work whilst they are absent? I didn't have children but worked with many women who did - you would be amazed at the number of "family emergencies" that occurred on a Friday afternoon - guess who was left to pick up their work (and usually having to work late).

rediculous and if I had to take up the slack of the person off I'd be very annoyed