'A father’s role is overlooked in early childcare, needs policy change': SC on paternity leave

New fathers working in the government sector are entitled to a paid leave of 15 days within the first six months of the birth or adoption of a child, however, law mandates 26 weeks paid leave for new mothers.

Last week, the Supreme Court (SC)  asked the Centre to bring a law recognising paternity leave as a social security benefit, highlighting the underrepresented role of a father in an infant’s early life. 

The March 17 ruling noted that fathers’ roles in early childcare have been largely overlooked and called for policy changes, as the responsibility of nurturing a newborn is primarily placed on mothers.

While the role of a mother in infant development is central to parenthood, the position of a father cannot be underestimated, the SC recognised.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said parenthood is not a solitary function performed by just one parent but involves the presence of both.

As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 6,300 newborns die everyday in their first month of life. The leading causes include complications from a premature birth, infections and poor health of the mother, with earlier days carrying the greatest risk.

Hence, the role of a father in this time window is imperative for child survival.

Paternity leave in India

Paternity leave is a type of paid or unpaid leave that allows a father to take time off from work to look after their newborn or an adopted infant.

In India, eligible new fathers working in the government sector are entitled to a paid leave of 15 days within the first six months of the birth or adoption of a child. For the private sector, the leave duration may vary with the company policy and it could be paid or unpaid for different companies.

For the government employees, they must have been employed for at least 80 days before availing this leave. 

In contrast to the absence of paternity leave provisions, the law grants mothers 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for their first two children. This highlights the gap between the time each parent gets to bond with the newborn.

As per a study, paternity leave has a dose-dependent effect on an infant’s health, with even a shorter time off is significantly contributing to a child’s health.

Fathers are made, not born

More studies are now seeing parenthood as an ‘adaptive cue’ and not essentially instinctive. Time spent with an infant is of utmost importance in developing a ‘fathering brain’, studies have found.

A father’s inclination to take paternity leave can lead to them being actively involved in childcare and not passive parenting, according to a study.

Spending more time with an infant is associated with a significant decrease in the child mortality and reduced hospitalisation in early days. The increased supervision preventing injury, reduced risk of postpartum depression in women, long breastfeeding hours and a grounded emotional system are some benefits linked to new fathers staying at home.

Also, this enables fathers to become instinctual caregivers to their children as it transforms a man’s neural pathway to become more attentive of a child’s needs. 

However, there are some social factors that prevent new fathers to ask for the leave, including the stereotypical ideology of a man as a provider, with some men fearing stigma and negative consequences like career disadvantage.