New Zealand's parliament this week voted unanimously to grant mothers and their partners three days of paid bereavement leave after a miscarriage, NBC News reported Friday.
Ginny Andersen, the Labor MP who presented the legislation, said it would make New Zealand only the second nation to allow such a benefit to her knowledge.
India is the other nation that provides such leave, which allows women to take six weeks of leave after a miscarriage, CNN said.
The leave provisions, without needing to use sick leave, apply to mothers, their partners as well as parents who plan to have a child through adoption or surrogacy, Andersen said.
"The bill will give women and their partners time to come to terms with their loss without having to tap into sick leave, because their grief is not a sickness, it's a loss. And loss takes time," NBC quoted Andersen as saying.
Advocates for the bill hope it not only provides grieving couples with financial stability, but also sets the stage for more open discussion on miscarriages and stillbirths, which many find difficult and painful to discuss or seek help for.
A miscarriage is defined as a pregnancy loss earlier than 20 weeks of gestation. Pregnancy loss after that point is called a stillbirth.
According to the Mayo Clinic, around 10% to 20% of reported pregnancies end in miscarriage. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that around 1 in 100 pregnancies at 20 weeks or later is affected by stillbirth.
New Zealand has introduced a series of laws in recent years that have been hailed by women's rights organizations, including efforts to minimize the impact of period poverty.
The ruling Labour government is led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who is considered as a strong advocate for women's health. Last year, her government introduced a landmark law to decriminalize abortion.
