Parental leave and return to work: evidence from

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Growing Up in New Zealand

• Parental leave and return to work evidence from
  

Assoc. Prof. Susan Morton Director Centre for
Longitudinal Research He Ara ki Mua and
Growing Up in New Zealand University of
Auckland New Zealand www.growingup.co.nz
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Purpose of Growing Up in New Zealand
To provide contemporary population relevant
evidence about the determinants of developmental
trajectories for 21st century New Zealand
children in the context of their families. The
Ministry of Social Development and the Health
Research Council of New Zealand, in association
with the Families Commission, the Ministries of
Health and Education and the Treasury, wish to
establish a new longitudinal study of New Zealand
children and families, . to gain a better
understanding of the causal pathways that lead to
particular child outcomes (across the life
course) introduction to RFP in 2004.
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Introducing Growing Up in New Zealand

• Providing contemporary and holistic evidence
  about growing up in New Zealand in the 21st
  century
• Following 6844 children born in 2009 and 2010
  (and their families) from before birth until
  early adulthood
• Cohort reflects diversity of all current NZ
  births (ethnicity, SES, rural/urban)
• In particular Maori, Pacific and Asian children
  included in appropriate numbers (unique)
• Collecting multidisciplinary evidence to inform
  effective cross-sectoral solutions

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Information collected to date

• NEXT STEPS
• 31 month retention contact complete and 45
  month underway
• Next DCW when children are 54 months
  (pre-schoolers)
• DCWs planned every 2-3 years at key transition
  points thereafter
• Data linkage to routinely collected health,
  education and other records

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Multidisciplinary research framework
Domains of influence on children not separate,
but overlapping and interwoven.
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Early information on child development
www.growingup.co.nz
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Parental leave (Antenatal and by 9 months)

• Over 95 (n 3534) of mothers in paid employment
  during pregnancy intended to take any leave
• Slightly fewer (89) partners intended to take
  leave after their baby was born
• By the time the cohort babies were 9 months old
  over 83 (n3085) of mothers who intended to take
  any leave had done so (30 still on leave at 9
  months)
• Most common leave taken was Paid Parental Leave
  (87)
• 1056 mothers took only Paid Parental Leave
• 37.5 took 2 forms of leave, 21 took 3 or more
  types (unpaid, annual, sick leave)

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Parental leave intentions (antenatal)
NZDep2006 quintiles n   Anticipated leave (months) Preferred leave (months) 
NZDep 1-2 (least deprived) 1100 9.4 17.9
NZDep 3-4 1235 8.6 16.3
NZDep 5-6 1168 7.9 16.7
NZDep 7-8 1426 8.2 16.9
NZDep 9-10 1891 7.2 14.7
Household income groups      
lt20K 220 7.2 9.9
gt20K lt30K 292 8.6 16.5
gt30K lt50K 738 8.0 12.9
gt50K lt70K 860 7.8 15.3
gt70K lt100K 1198 7.8 17.2
gt100K lt150K 915 8.2 17.1
gt150K 986 9.1 18.0
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Length of leave (by 9 months)
Length of leave for those who had completed leave (n2460) Mean (weeks)
Length of total leave (both paid and unpaid) 23.2
Length of paid parental leave plus additional pay from employer 14.8
Length of paid parental leave only 13.6
Length of annual leave 4.5
Length of receiving other type of pay 10.3
Length of not receiving any pay at all 16.0
Includes multiple response(s) and will total to
more than 100
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Paid Parental leave and type of child care (9
months)
Main child care at 9 months (for mothers who took PPL)   n
Daycare or Early childcare Centre 488 40
Grandparent 378 31
Home based care programme 126 10
Nanny 92 8
Other relative 58 5
Other (friend, neighbour)  31  3
Kohanga Reo 23 2
Pacific islands Childcare Centre 14 1
Other 10 0.9
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Child wellbeing - Immunisation rates by
deprivation
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Parental Leave (type and duration) and
likelihood of timely Immunisations

• Completion of immunisations on time was most
  likely for the group of children whose mothers
  were still on leave when they were 9 months of
  age (n1055)
• (6 weeks 94, 3mths - 93, 5mths 88 or
  all 3 -86)
• Completion of immunisations on time was also most
  likely for the group of children whose mothers
  took a combination of Paid Parental leave and
  Other leave
• (6 weeks 94, 3mths - 93, 5mths 89 or
  all 3 -87)
• Completion of immunisations on time was least
  likely for the group of children whose mothers
  took only Other leave (that is no PPL)
• (6 weeks 89, 3mths - 86, 5mths 77 or
  all 3 -75)

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Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates in Growing Up
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Parental leave and exclusive breastfeeding
Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months)
Maternal leave group N Minimum Maximum Mean Std Dev Median
Took leave 3420 0.033 11.000 3.816 2.112 4.000
Didn't take leave 664 0.033 9.000 3.892 2.105 4.000
Not eligible for leave (not working) 2022 0.033 12.000 3.890 2.178 4.000
Of those in each category that ever breastfed
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Parental leave type and exclusive breastfeeding
Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months) Duration of exclusive breastfeeding (months)
Maternal leave group N Minimum Maximum Mean Std Dev Median
Paid parental leave 1015 0.033 9.000 3.792 2.123 4.000
Paid parental leave plus other leave(s) 1976 0.033 11.000 3.834 2.102 4.000
Other leave type(s) but not paid parental leave 425 0.033 9.000 3.773 2.135 4.000
Of those in each category that ever breastfed
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Future plans

• Full analysis of parental leave and return to
  work when all mothers have completed leave
  (approximately 30 of those who took leave yet to
  return to work in first 9 months)
• Further analyses of enablers and barriers to
  taking parental leave (for those eligible)
• Further analyses on impact of parental leave on
  environment provided for children and related
  behaviours
• Relationship between parental leave and return to
  work on family dynamics and child developmental
  outcomes and wellbeing.

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Acknowledgements

• Participants and their families
• Growing Up team
• University of Auckland
• UniServices
• Ministry of Social Development
• Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education,
  Ministry of Justice, Dept of Labour, Ministry of
  Pacific Island Affairs, Te Puni Kokiri, Office of
  Ethnic Affairs, Statistics NZ, Families
  Commission, Childrens Commission
• Advisory and Stakeholder groups