When I became pregnant with my son last year, I was overjoyed. However, when I found out my company only offered unpaid maternity leave, I started to worry about how I would take care of myself and my family in the later stages of pregnancy and after giving birth. 

My story is far from unique. The United States is one of the only developed nations in the world that doesn’t guarantee new parents paid leave. That’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass the FAMILY Act, a piece of legislation that would provide workers with up to 12 week of partial income for the birth or adoption of a child.

Because I knew I wanted to take time off after my son was born, I worked right past my due date and reported for work the day before I was induced. While my company permitted me to take three months of unpaid leave, I took only one because I did not have the financial resources to be out of work for any longer.

Becoming a parent is a joyous life event but it’s also a stressful one. Along with recovering from birth and adapting to life with a baby in the house, new mothers and their partners are faced with the overwhelming responsibility of making sure they can take care of their family’s financial health. No new parent should have to choose between taking care of their health and that of their baby because they can’t afford to take time off of work.

It’s time for the United States to take a stand on behalf of working parents and join the rest of the developed world in making paid family leave possible for all employees. Please sign my petition to ask Congress to pass the FAMILY Act and make a difference for the workers of this country.