Blog
What we're learning about parental leave
Notes from Christine (Nurse Practitioner, military spouse, first-time expecting mom) and Steven (CPA, Navy veteran) as we build the tool we wished existed. Practical, honest, and specific.
Research · 7 min read
5 Paid Family Leave Statistics to Know Before Week 30
Only two in five eligible parents claim the paid leave they qualify for, and the average non-claimer leaves $6,000 to $10,000 behind. Five sourced numbers, and what each one should change about your plan.
Christine · October 6, 2026
Explainer · 6 min read
Do Dads Actually Get Paid Paternity Leave?
There's no federal paid paternity leave in the US. Thirteen states plus DC pay fathers the same weeks as mothers, and everywhere else it depends on your employer. Here's the honest answer, and the data on how few dads claim what they're owed.
Steven · September 29, 2026
How-to · 8 min read
How to File a Short-Term Disability Claim for Maternity Leave
Short-term disability pays for your medical recovery after childbirth, usually 6 weeks or 8 after a Cesarean. Here's when to enroll, when to file, what the certification needs, and how STD hands off to your state's paid family leave.
Christine · September 22, 2026
Explainer · 7 min read
How Long Is Maternity Leave, Really? By State and Program
Anywhere from zero paid weeks to twenty, depending on your state, your delivery, and which claims you file. Here's the real answer, program by program and state by state.
Christine · September 15, 2026
State guide · 7 min read
Paternity Leave in New York: 12 Weeks at 67% of Your Pay
New York dads get the same 12 weeks of Paid Family Leave as moms, at 67% of wages up to $1,228.53 a week in 2026. Here's who qualifies, how to file through your employer's insurance carrier, and why it doesn't come out of your partner's weeks.
Steven · September 8, 2026
Practical · 5 min read
3 Things Not to Forget When Setting Up Maternity Leave
Most of what goes wrong with maternity leave comes down to three things: the second claim, the coordination question nobody asks HR in writing, and the filing window. Here's each one, and what to do about it.
Christine · September 1, 2026
Explainer · 8 min read
Bonding Leave, Explained: The Claim Most Parents Never File
Bonding leave is the paid time you get to be with a new baby, and in most states it's a separate claim from your medical recovery. Here's what it is, how it differs, and why filing only one leaves weeks of pay behind.
Christine · August 25, 2026
Explainer · 7 min read
7 Ways to Maximize Your Paid Family Leave
Most parents leave paid weeks unclaimed. Seven specific moves, from filing the bonding leave claim to checking your wage base, that turn the leave you're entitled to into leave you actually get paid for.
Christine · August 11, 2026
Explainer · 7 min read
Pregnancy Disability Leave: What It Is and Who Gets It
Pregnancy disability leave means three different things: California's job-protection law, the medical half of your state's paid leave program, or employer short-term disability. Here's how to tell which one applies to you.
Christine · August 4, 2026
Research · 9 min read
Your benefits are the law. Whether you claim them depends on your employer.
Researchers found paid leave take-up was 57% higher at firms paying above-market wages. Then state agencies counted what happens next, and in Massachusetts nearly a third of parents never claimed the second half of their leave.
Christine · July 22, 2026
News · 4 min read
New Jersey just expanded job-protected family leave. 400,000 more workers are covered
Effective July 17, 2026, New Jersey's Family Leave Act covers employers with 15+ employees, cuts the tenure requirement to 3 months, and adds job protection for TDB and FLI recipients. Here's who's newly covered and what to do about it.
Christine · July 20, 2026
Explainer · 8 min read
Is HR on your side for parental leave? A map of who wants what
HR isn't hiding money from you. But nobody at your company is paid to maximize your leave, and sometimes their incentives point the other way. Here's the honest incentive map, including the surprising cases where your employer actively wants you to file.
Christine · July 19, 2026
Explainer · 9 min read
Are parental leave consultants worth it? An honest look at what $400 buys you
Parental leave consultants charge $300 to $3,000 to help you maximize your leave. Sometimes that's money well spent. Here's what they actually do, where the model breaks down, and how to decide if you need one.
Christine · July 19, 2026
Explainer · 8 min read
Six expensive parental leave mistakes most parents make (and how to avoid them)
The six coordination mistakes that cost expecting parents thousands of dollars. PTO order, filing windows, STD stacking, HR coordination, couples' unpaid gaps, and the employer policy pattern most handbooks don't spell out.
Christine · July 13, 2026
Explainer · 8 min read
Why not just use ChatGPT or Claude to plan your parental leave?
You can. And for some situations, it's genuinely enough. But there are four specific failure modes that cost real money on parental leave, and they're exactly where general LLMs are weakest. Here's the honest breakdown.
Christine · July 7, 2026
Explainer · 6 min read
Stacked, supplemental, or offset: the three ways your employer's leave policy interacts with state PFML
The difference between the three coordination patterns is often $10,000 to $20,000 on a 12-week leave. Ask HR which one applies. In writing.
Christine · July 6, 2026
Explainer · 6 min read
Short-term disability vs paid family leave: the $10,000 difference most moms miss
STD covers your body's recovery from childbirth. PFML covers the weeks after that. Different money, different weeks, different applications. Most birthing parents can stack them.
Christine · July 5, 2026
Explainer · 7 min read
FMLA vs PFML: what's the difference (and why you probably need both)
FMLA protects your job. PFML pays you. Two different applications, two different deadlines, two different sources of money. Here's how they interact in plain English.
Christine · July 4, 2026
Founder POV · 5 min read
Why we built Parental Leave Pro (or: what happens when a nurse practitioner and a CPA try to plan their own leave)
A nurse practitioner and a CPA tried to plan their own parental leave. It took three weekends. Here's why we built the tool we wished existed.
Christine · July 1, 2026
Educational content. Not legal, tax, HR, or financial advice. Confirm your specific eligibility with the applicable state agency, your employer, or a qualified advisor.