How do people in the United States afford to take maternity leave? I am talking about those who can’t get by with just a one person income or are a single parent? I would love to be able to be a SAHM but unfortunately we both have to work to be able to survive..a lot of places don’t offer paid maternity leave. What are we expected to do realistically? I started my current job in March and will have about 3 weeks of vacation saved by the time I give birth. I’ll have maybe a week of sick leave saved up. They just don’t accrue very fast. I’m worried 3-4 weeks won’t be enough maternity leave time but it’s looking like my only option......any advice or stories from others on what they’ve done?