The House of Representatives Chairman Puan Maharani has claimed that her party is fighting for the Draft Law on Maternal and Child Welfare (KIA) to be immediately discussed.
Included in the legislation is a provision for maternity leave for up to six months.
Maharani said this when she opened the People’s Health Service Innovation Festival to Avoid Stunting, at the PDIP Party School at Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta on Saturday 18th June 2022.
“In the future, the mother will have her leave, God willing, from three months to six months,” she said.
Technical matters will be discussed later by the House of Representatives and the government. Maharani confirmed that the draft law needs to be fought for so that the bond between mother and child after giving birth can be maximised.
“Three months of leave is enough, but if you can have six months, why not? And the next three months, will it be WFH, keep working, but with the baby. This is important. So that the closeness between mother and child can be closer, can provide more breast milk,” she explained.
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With the bill, Maharani said that her party is also targeting the role of fathers in caring for and raising children. Mothers will also be able to work while taking care of their children.
Breastfeeding and providing nutritious food for children would prevent stunting.
“Now it is very important for us to work together to overcome stunting because it is how stunting be reduced in 2024. So one of the collaborations in the PDIP party is to work together with the government to overcome stunting,” she said.
The stunting problem must be addressed early on because it concerns the future of the nation, and the future of infants, and children.