The Military Moms Matter Act & Parental Leave: Supporting a New Generation of Servicemembers

The U.S. military today is the most diverse in our nation’s history and is more integrated along gender lines than at any point in the past. So much so that For Country Caucus Vice-Chairs Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, as well as Member Rep. Chrissy Houlahan and others, recently relaunched the Servicewomen and Women Veterans Caucus to focus specifically on the unique needs of our women servicemembers. 

In the same spirit, With Honor Action worked alongside Rep. Houlahan to pass the bipartisan Military Moms Matter Act in 2021. The act addresses disparities in maternal healthcare, parental leave, and postpartum physical fitness standards between men and the nearly 230,000 women who serve on active duty. Specifically, the Act provides:

• A standard 12 weeks of parental leave for parents and caregivers across active-duty services
• An additional six weeks of convalescent leave for mothers
• A requirement for greater postpartum health services for mothers and newborn infants
• Standardization of service branch policies on body composition and physical fitness, allowing women one year of recovery before they must meet physical fitness standards

As of February 1, 2023, all military services have implemented the new leave policy, standardizing parental leave for the over 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers and their families.

To learn more about the issue, watch the video below: