maternity leave
noun/məˈtɜːnəti liːv/
/məˈtɜːrnəti liːv/
[uncountable]- a period of time when a woman is allowed to be away from work before and after having a baby
- on maternity leave Ellie is currently on maternity leave.
Collocations ChildrenChildrenHaving a baby/childsee also family leave, parental leave, paternity leaveTopics Life stagesc1- want a baby/a child/kids
- start a family
- conceive/be expecting/be going to have a baby/child
- miss your period
- become/get/be/find out that you are pregnant
- have a baby/a child/kids/a son/a daughter/twins/a family
- have a normal/a difficult/an unwanted pregnancy; an easy/a difficult/a home birth
- be in/go into/induce labour (especially US English) labor
- have/suffer/cause a miscarriage
- give birth to a child/baby/daughter/son/twins
- bring up/ (especially North American English) raise a child/family
- care for/ (especially British English) look after a baby/child/kid
- change (British English) a nappy/(North American English) a diaper/a baby
- feed/breastfeed/bottle-feed a baby
- be entitled to/go on maternity/paternity leave
- go back/return to work after maternity leave
- need/find/get a babysitter/good quality affordable childcare
- balance/combine work and childcare/child-rearing/family life
- educate/teach/home-school a child/kid
- punish/discipline/spoil a child/kid
- adopt a baby/child/kid
- offer a baby for/put a baby up for adoption
- (especially British English) foster a child/kid
- be placed with/be raised by foster parents
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maternity leave