Parents of premature babies call for extended paid parental leave
Parents of premature babies are calling on the federal government to provide extended paid parental leave. Advocates say extra support is needed for families forced to spend the first months with their newborn, in hospital.
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00:00 Cat Avril's journey to motherhood hasn't been easy.
00:06 Her baby Archie came almost three months earlier than expected.
00:09 He was 28 weeks and four days and weighed just over one kilo.
00:17 He was very, very sick.
00:19 By the time she was able to take her new baby home,
00:22 Cat had already used all of her paid parental leave.
00:25 My 18 weeks of paid parental leave was spent medically,
00:29 not taking home a baby and enjoying it and settling into a family.
00:36 Families like Cat's are now calling on the Federal Government
00:39 to provide extended leave for parents of premature babies.
00:43 We know they're so vulnerable already due to mental health challenges
00:46 and we really believe helping with this financial stress
00:49 will take a lot of pressure off Australian families.
00:51 Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says
00:54 the Federal Government's changes to paid parental leave by 2026
00:58 will provide flexibility for families.
01:01 Cat Avril says more leave would have taken off a lot of pressure.
01:05 What we have gone through is not this beautiful
01:09 welcome to the world family experience.
01:13 It's so mentally taxing on the parents, financially taxing, everything.
01:19 Now, more than a year on from his birth, Archie is developing in strides.
01:24 He's just such a determined, strong little baby.
01:28 Something that he taught me is how much strength he has
01:32 before he even needs to fight.
01:34 A fight the Avrils are continuing for other families like theirs.
01:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]