When a baby is born to a family, it is always a joyous occasion. Sound of innocent baby crying with the tiny voice, smell of Dettol( disinfectant) used to wash and clean up things, and my favorite part, the fragrance of the powder that soothes the baby fills the air. I remember when my younger siblings were born, I would always carry the baby so that when I get to School, I would smell of a new born baby 😅
Child bearing, as much as it comes with a good news comes with a big responsibility. Let's leave out all the pains endured by the woman during pregnancy but on the day the labour comes, it is always very painful and stressful. Now here comes the baby. This family needs rest and time to bond with the baby. This post is in response to 
SHOULD THE NEW FATHER BE GIVEN PATERNITY LEAVE?
Well, In Sweden, not only is the Father given paternity leave, even the grandparents who come in to perform child care (Omugwo) are compensated by the Government financially.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
1. PATERNITY LEAVE IS NOT ADVISED IF IT IS WITHOUT SALARY
Personally, I would say the father of the baby should not be given paternity leave if his pay will be cut off for that period. When I gave birth to the two of my children, normally I went for maternity leave but my salary was stopped for good nine months. Yes, I was working in a private school, the Proprietor would only allow new Mothers back to work after that long period when she wouldn't need to ask for permission to get baby's immunization, post natal care excuses and when he is sure the baby is strong enough to start pre-School. I guess that's a way to encourage his teachers to be more available and discourage getting pregnant at will. Hahahaha. The only good thing is that after the nine-month period is over, your job is still there for you. So a man working in such a place, why would he bother to apply for paternity leave? He needs money to feed the wife very well so the woman would have the energy to exclusively feed the baby on breast milk for at least six months.
2. PATERNITY LEAVE GRANTED BUT WORK FOR A FEW HOURS IN A DAY
I appreciate the fact that the Father of the baby should be helpful especially at night when the baby keeps the Mother up due to crying or breastfeeding. He sometimes should be available to hold, sing and dance with the child while the Mother sleeps a little. In that wise, a new Father should be allowed to work half day, I mean he should still go to work but close early so he too can eat and have some rest in order to be useful at night for both baby and Mother. 😄
In some families, some grandparents who would have been of help may have health challenges; some grandparents who are not retired may still need to be at work. So both parent should be available during child care, and this will be possible if both have time to rest well.
3. WHEN PATERNITY LEAVE IS NEEDED DESPITE THE ODDS
For me, there are exceptions where the father does not need to beg for the leave. He should be granted with immediate effect. People at work may tease a man who applies for paternity leave but He and the new mother knows where it hurts. What If she gave birth through CS, she is going to need all the help the other partner can give. More so, She may have delivered normally through the natural childbirth process, but if her job is more sustainable or she is the bread winner, before long she might want to go back to work in order not to lose her job. What if she is a student who needs to prepare for exams not long after delivery ? The new father should be available to help. He can only do this if he is granted paternity leave, whether casual or annual leave. . Lastly, for gender equality, the new Father needs the leave.
Summarily, whether a paternity leave should be granted to a new Father depends on the new Father in question. He should weigh all the options and circumstances before asking. When he asks, he is expected to give reasons why he should be granted such leave. Please when he does, employers kindly do the needful. We the womenfolk need all the support we can get during child birth, emotionally, financially, morally and otherwise. Allow our Baby's Father some time to support us and bond with the new baby. If for gender equality sake, grant it. 🙏 Now, I feel like trying for another baby, hahaha.
