From Elternzeit to midwives: An American’s view on having a baby in Germany

“Only a year?” a German friend replied with genuine surprise when I told her how long I was on parental leave.

As we both walked with our two-month old daughters through a sunlit Berlin park, brimming with pram-pushing mums on a Monday afternoon, I mused that I would already be returning to work if I was in the US right now.

Comparing social policies in Germany and the US may be like comparing apples and oranges (or a fruit to a five course meal). But doing so as a new parent has made me appreciate calling this country home more than any other time in my near-decade here.

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