

When her baby was born nine weeks premature and required weeks of hospitalization, Taylor Richendrfer had the time off work she needed to care for him.



But she didn't have the income. Richendrfer's leave from work, like that of many other U.S. parents, was unpaid.



The Washington mom joined a growing number of parents who are using crowdfunding for what in most other industrialized countries is a guaranteed social benefit -- paid maternity leave.



"I'd been home [from work] for about a week, and the financial implications were starting to settle in," said Richendrfer, whose son was born in August.



"I just broke down to my husband and I said, 'I don't want to go back to work the day [Aidan] comes back from the hospital," she added. "Emotionally, I just can’t handle that.'"



After Aidan was born, Richendrfer launched "The Aidan Skye Maternity Leave Fund" on GoFundMe and, within weeks, she said, thousands of dollars in donations came rolling in from friends, family and even strangers. She eventually raised $5,880.

Taylor Richendrfer is one of thousands who raised money on GoFundMe More

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American mothers pursuing a new option



More than half of American workers, 59 percent, qualify for unpaid leave of up to 12 weeks under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act to care for newborns or children or other family members who are ill, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.



But only 13 percent of U.S. workers have access to paid family leave, according to a federal Bureau of Labor Statistics report in 2016.



The U.S. is the only advanced industrialized nation without a guarantee of paid leave for new parents, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.



As a result, thousands have used GoFundMe to raise money for maternity or paternity leave, with such campaigns bringing in millions of dollars overall, a GoFundMe spokesperson told ABC News.



Another site, Babylist, where expectant parents register for baby gifts, has some families listing a need for funds for maternity or paternity leave, said Natalie Gordon, Babylist's CEO. She told ABC News that about 250 registrants have set up funds for leave to care for a new baby or adopted child. That is a small fraction of the approximately 75,000 expectant parents who have set up registries on the platform so far this year.

Plumfund.com More

Honeyfund.com has also noticed that people are seeking donations for maternity leave through its crowdfunding platform, Plumfund.com, said Sara Margulis, CEO of Honeyfund.com. Among the company's 5,000 baby-related campaigns in 2016, about 250 sought donations to pay for maternity leave, with an average amount raised of about $350.



"Being able to give the gift of time to parents and their newborns is really enticing, and friends and family are financially backing couples in doing this," Margulis said.



But the CEO said the trend points to the need for a change in government policy.



"The trend of maternity crowdfunding is pointing to a need for better federal paid maternity leave policies that help women take the necessary time they need when they have a child," she said.

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