Finland just gave both parents 7 months of parental leave. Here's why it could drastically reduce postpartum depression in the country.

By Allana Akhtar| February 7, 2020

Photo: Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin just approved 7 months of parental leave for both parents. Reuters. 

"Finland may have made a significant move in reducing postpartum depression among new moms.

The country's government, led by 34-year-old Prime Minister Sanna Marin, will give both new parents seven months of parental leave after childbirth. Pregnant women get an additional month of leave before giving birth.

The updates will replace the country's current policy that provides gender-based pay for four months for new mothers and two months for new fathers, according to NPR. The new policy will go into effect in 2021. 

Marin says the move will improve gender equality and is part of her government's plan to pass wide-sweeping social reforms. Marin is the youngest female prime minister in the world, and a majority of her cabinet members are women.

Along with giving fathers more time with their newborns, the progressive policy can improve new mothers' physical and mental health, research suggests, and prevent postpartum depression.

Research finds that having both partners at home after childbirth improves a new mom's anxiety and wellbeing.
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While everybody is focused on the baby after it's born, mothers are acutely at risk. 

Worldwide, 17.7% of new mothers experience postpartum depression. 

While the potential causes of maternal distress are many, new research on Sweden suggests that simply having fathers more available to help out with the newborn can lead to huge gains in mental health for mothers. Sweden has Europe's most generous parental leave, NPR reported, at 240 days per parent.

Mothers are 14% less likely to visit a doctor for childbirth-related complications when fathers are present for the first few of a baby's life. They are also 11% less likely to require antibiotic prescriptions, and 26% less likely to need anti-anxiety medication.

The new National Bureau of Economics working paper, authored by Stanford economists Petra Persson and Maya Rossin-Slater, focused on the impact of parental leave policies in the Nordic country, which offers some of the world's most generous parental leave."

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