Maternity leave in the US: how long it lasts and who pays (2026)

Paid time off after a baby in the US comes down to three things: whether you qualify for FMLA, which state you work in, and what your employer offers. No federal law requires a private employer to pay you while you're out ^[1].

This guide covers how long you can be out, who pays for which weeks, and how the pieces fit together. Find your state in the table further down, then click through for its rules.

How long is maternity leave in the US?

Most new moms put leave together from several sources. Here's what each one gives you:

So the real answer to "how long is maternity leave" is this: 12 weeks of job protection if you qualify for FMLA, and as much paid time as your state, your employer and your own savings add up to.

FMLA: 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave

The Family and Medical Leave Act is the federal baseline. If you qualify, you can take up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period for the birth of your child and to bond with your newborn ^[2]. Your employer has to keep your group health coverage going on the same terms, and you return to the same or a virtually identical job ^[2].

Who qualifies. All three of these have to be true ^[7]:

• You've worked for the employer for at least 12 months.
• You've worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before your leave starts. That's an average of about 24 hours a week.
• Your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your worksite.

What it covers. You can use FMLA before the birth if pregnancy keeps you from working, such as severe morning sickness or bed rest, and for prenatal care ^[2]. Bonding leave has to be used within 12 months of the birth, and you can split it into pieces only if your employer agrees ^[2].

Partners. Either parent can take FMLA to bond. If you and your spouse work for the same employer, the two of you can be limited to 12 weeks combined for bonding ^[2]. Leave to care for a spouse recovering from childbirth is covered too ^[2].

Notice. When you know leave is coming, as with a due date, give your employer at least 30 days' notice. If that isn't possible, give notice as soon as practicable ^[8].

If you don't qualify. You still have options. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act covers employers with 15 or more employees and lists leave to recover from childbirth as a possible reasonable accommodation ^[3]. Some states have their own job-protected leave with lower thresholds. New Jersey's Family Leave Act now covers employers with 15 or more employees and workers with 3 months on the job ^[9]. California's pregnancy disability leave applies at employers with 5 or more employees ^[10].

Which states pay for maternity leave?

Here's where the 50 states and DC stand as of October 2026. We checked each state's program website and laws, and compared them with national trackers ^[11]:

• 12 states and DC pay benefits now: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and the District of Columbia.
• 2 states have passed laws but don't pay yet. Maryland starts paying in January 2028 ^[12], and Virginia on December 1, 2028 ^[13].
• 2 states run optional plans. New Hampshire and Vermont pay only if your employer buys the state plan or you enroll yourself well ahead of time ^[14][15].
• 8 states let insurers sell family leave policies to employers: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. You're covered only if your employer buys one ^[16][17].
• 26 states have no program. Hawaii is a partial exception. Its Temporary Disability Insurance pays while you recover from childbirth, but there's no paid leave to bond ^[18].

Where benefits exist, they replace part of your pay, not all of it. The most a program pays per week in 2026 ranges from $900 in Delaware to $1,765 in California ^[19][20]. Most people get less than the cap, because the benefit is a share of your own wages.

What birth moms get in the paying states

• California: Disability Insurance usually pays 10 to 12 weeks for pregnancy and recovery. Paid Family Leave then adds up to 8 weeks to bond. The max is $1,765 a week ^[21][20].
• Colorado: Up to 12 weeks a year for pregnancy and bonding combined, or 16 if you have a pregnancy or childbirth complication. The max is $1,448 a week from July 1, 2026 ^[22].
• Connecticut: Up to 12 weeks for pregnancy, recovery and bonding combined, plus 2 more for a serious pregnancy complication. The max is $1,016.40 a week ^[23][24].
• Delaware: Up to 12 weeks to bond and 6 weeks of medical leave, with 12 weeks combined. Benefits started January 1, 2026, and the max is $900 a week ^[25][19].
• District of Columbia: 12 weeks of parental leave to bond plus 2 weeks of prenatal leave. The max is $1,100 a week for claims from October 1, 2026 ^[26][27].
• Maine: Benefits started May 1, 2026. You get up to 12 weeks a year for recovery and bonding combined, at up to $1,249.12 a week from July 1, 2026 ^[28][29][30].
• Massachusetts: Up to 20 weeks of medical leave for pregnancy and recovery plus 12 weeks to bond, capped at 26 weeks a year. The max is $1,230.39 a week ^[31][32].
• Minnesota: Benefits started January 1, 2026. You get up to 12 weeks of pregnancy-related medical leave and 12 weeks to bond, with 20 weeks combined, at up to $1,423 a week ^[33][34].
• New Jersey: Temporary Disability Insurance typically pays 10 to 12 weeks around the birth. Family Leave Insurance then pays up to 12 weeks to bond. The max is $1,119 a week ^[35][36].
• New York: Disability benefits cover 4 weeks before your due date and 6 after the birth (8 after a C-section), but they pay at most $170 a week. Paid Family Leave then pays up to 12 weeks to bond at 67% of your pay, up to $1,228.53 a week. The two together can't top 26 weeks ^[37][11][38].
• Oregon: Up to 12 weeks for recovery and bonding combined, plus 2 more for pregnancy. The max is $1,692.16 a week for claims from June 28, 2026 ^[39][40].
• Rhode Island: Temporary Disability Insurance covers pregnancy and recovery, then caregiver benefits pay up to 8 weeks to bond, within a 30-week yearly cap. The max is $1,150 a week for claims from July 1, 2026 ^[41][42].
• Washington: Up to 12 weeks to bond, with medical leave for pregnancy and recovery, for up to 16 weeks combined (18 with a pregnancy complication). The max is $1,647 a week ^[43].

Maternity leave by state

This table shows whether each state pays, how many paid weeks you get to bond with your baby, and the most the program pays per week in 2026. Click a state for who qualifies, how to apply and what protects your job. The figures come from the state sources cited above.

"Shared with recovery" means your recovery from the birth and your bonding time come out of the same pool of weeks. The weekly figure is a cap, and your own benefit is a share of your wages. New York's disability benefit for pregnancy recovery has its own, much lower cap of $170 a week ^[37]. Several states change their maximums every year, so check your state's page before you plan around a number.

Short-term disability: the paycheck in most states

In the states with no program, and for plenty of workers in states that have one, the main source of pay while you recover is short-term disability insurance. It treats recovery from childbirth like any other medical condition that keeps you from working.

• Who has it. In March 2026, 44% of private-industry workers had access to a short-term disability plan ^[44].
• How long it pays. Usually 6 weeks after a vaginal birth and 8 weeks after a C-section, and longer if your doctor certifies complications ^[4][45].
• How much. Often 50% to 70% of your pay ^[5]. The life insurance industry's trade group says 60% is the most common ^[45].
• The wait. Most plans have an unpaid waiting period before benefits start, often 7 or 14 days ^[5][46].

If you'd be buying a policy yourself, buy it before you get pregnant. A pregnancy that began before coverage starts is usually treated as a pre-existing condition ^[5]. Our guide to short-term disability for pregnancy covers the fine print and the five states that run their own disability programs.

How PTO, short-term disability, state leave and FMLA stack

Leave is rarely one benefit. It's usually several running at once, and a few federal rules decide how they overlap:

• FMLA protects your job but doesn't pay you. It runs alongside whatever does pay you. Leave under a disability plan counts as FMLA leave ^[47].
• Your employer can require you to use PTO during unpaid FMLA leave, and you can choose to use it too ^[47].
• Weeks paid by disability benefits are different. While you're getting disability benefits, neither you nor your employer can require paid leave to be substituted. You can agree to top up the disability pay with PTO where state law allows it ^[47].
• State benefits and job protection can come from different laws. California's programs, for example, pay benefits but don't protect your job on their own. That comes from state and federal leave laws ^[48].

Example 1: Texas, with employer short-term disability

Say you work in Texas for a company with 200 employees and you've been there two years, so you qualify for FMLA. Your employer's disability plan pays 60% of your pay after a 7-day waiting period, for 6 weeks from the delivery date. You have 2 weeks of PTO saved, and you have a vaginal birth and take 12 weeks off.

That's 12 weeks off with about 5 weeks' worth of pay. Texas has no state program ^[16], so anything beyond this depends on your employer's own parental leave policy.

Example 2: California

California workers who pay into State Disability Insurance get much more. Disability Insurance can start up to 4 weeks before your due date and usually runs 6 weeks after a vaginal birth or 8 after a C-section ^[21]. Paid Family Leave then adds up to 8 weeks to bond ^[20]. Your job is protected by two state laws: pregnancy disability leave for up to 4 months at employers with 5 or more employees, then up to 12 weeks of bonding leave under the California Family Rights Act if you've worked there at least a year and 1,250 hours ^[10].

For an uncomplicated birth, that's about 18 to 20 weeks of partial pay: 10 to 12 weeks of disability plus 8 of family leave ^[21][20]. Both pay 70% to 90% of your wages, up to the weekly cap ^[49][50].

Your rights while you're pregnant and on leave

Leave is only part of it. Federal law also protects you at work before and after the birth:

• Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Employers with 15 or more employees must give reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions, such as more breaks, a schedule change, telework or leave for appointments. They can't make you take leave if another accommodation would let you keep working ^[3].
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Your employer has to treat you the same as other workers who are similar in their ability or inability to work ^[51].
• PUMP Act. For a year after the birth, nearly all workers covered by federal wage law get reasonable break time to pump and a private space that isn't a bathroom ^[52].

Our guides to your rights at work while pregnant and pumping at work cover how to ask for what you need and where to file if your employer says no.

How to plan your maternity leave: a checklist

1. Check your FMLA eligibility with HR: 12 months, 1,250 hours, and 50 employees within 75 miles.
2. Ask HR for the details of your disability plan. You want the benefit percentage, the weekly cap, the waiting period and how many weeks it pays for each type of delivery. Ask about any paid parental leave policy too.
3. Look up your state on our paid family leave page or your state's guide to having a baby, and note when you're allowed to apply.
4. Give notice. For FMLA that's at least 30 days before leave starts, when you can ^[8].
5. Map it out week by week, like the examples above, and work out how many unpaid weeks you can afford.
6. Line up other help. If money is tight, check Medicaid for pregnancy, WIC and the other programs on our benefits hub.

This guide is general information about leave laws, not legal advice. For a dispute with your employer, contact the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division or your state labor agency.