Editorial | Case can be made for more maternity leave

Many new mothers experience postnatal depression in the year after childbirth, with symptoms including persistent low moods, crying for no reason, feelings of hopelessness or loss of interest in their child. Coping can be all the more difficult when the new mother returns to work after maternity leave ends.

It is therefore promising to see researchers have found the extension of maternity leave by four weeks has contributed to a 22 per cent decrease in the number of mothers suffering postnatal depression.

The University of Hong Kong’s Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine said the study also found the policy change led to a 33 per cent drop in women who reported their mental health had affected their childcare abilities.

Hong Kong in December 2020 increased paid maternity leave from 10 weeks to 14 in line with the minimum UN International Labour Organization standards. The proposal was introduced by former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

The added time off makes a difference. “Even a modest change of policy – an additional four weeks of paid leave – was associated with significant mental health benefits,” said Dr Quan Jianchao, clinical assistant professor at HKU’s school of public health, who jointly led the study published in May.

Researchers interviewed 1,414 women who gave birth between August 2020 and July 2022. About 250 were interviewed before the longer leave policy was implemented, with 40.2 per cent of those participants reporting that they suffered severe enough symptoms that they would typically have been recommended for counselling. That dropped to 31.5 per cent after the four weeks were added.