When a baby is born, much of the attention required to care for the baby naturally turns to the mother. We all know she has carried the pregnancy, gone through childbirth and is now recovering while learning how to care for a newborn.
Yet in some families, Dad may be back at work within days, not necessarily because he wants to be, but because his workplace gives him little or no meaningful time away after the birth of his child.
A recent Premium Times report examining Nigeria’s parental-leave challenge raises an important question for working families: what happens when one parent is expected to return quickly to paid work while the other is recovering and caring for a newborn? Paternity leave may sound like an issue primarily concerning fathers, but what happens to Dad’s time also affects what Mum is left carrying at home.
Recovery Does Not Pause Newborn Care
Childbirth is followed by a period in which a woman’s own physical, emotional and social needs still matter. The World Health Organization describes the postnatal period as a critical time for women and newborns and notes that fathers, partners and other family members can influence women’s access to postnatal care, self-care and care practices at home.
At the same time, a newborn needs care around the clock. There are feeds and nappies, broken nights and clinic appointments. There may also be an older child who needs breakfast before school, food to prepare and the ordinary decisions of family life that have not disappeared because a baby arrived. Grandma, a sister, mother-in-law or nanny may be helping too, but having another parent available can mean Mum is not recovering while also carrying most of the responsibility for everything happening around her.
Breastfeeding makes this distinction particularly clear. Dad cannot breastfeed the baby, but that does not mean the entire feeding experience has to become Mum’s responsibility. At 3 a.m., he might change the baby’s nappy, bring the baby to her and settle the baby afterwards. During the day, he might make sure she eats, wash pumping items, take over with an older child or handle household needs while she rests.
There will always be parts of early motherhood that only Mum can do. The question is whether all the work surrounding those things quietly becomes hers too.
Dad Needs Time to Become a Parent Too
Nobody arrives home with a newborn knowing everything that baby needs. Parents learn through the ordinary repetition of caring: changing nappies, settling cries, noticing sleep cues, preparing the baby bag and gradually understanding the child’s routine.
When fathers have time to participate in those early days, they have opportunities to develop that knowledge for themselves. Without that involvement, it is easy for Mum to become the person who knows where everything is, what the baby needs and what happens next, while Dad waits for instructions.
That difference can become particularly important when maternity leave ends. Mum may return to meetings, deadlines, commuting or running her business, but if she has also become the keeper of the baby’s routine, appointments, supplies and childcare arrangements, paid work simply returns on top of responsibilities she was already carrying.
Paternity leave cannot guarantee that parenting will be shared fairly. A father can be physically at home and still leave most of the work to his partner or to the women around them. But protected time can give both parents an opportunity to learn their baby and start deciding together who will take responsibility for nights, clinic visits, crèche communication, sick days and the many other needs that continue after maternity leave ends.
The Reality Is More Complicated Than “Dad Should Stay Home”
Paternity-leave access in Nigeria is uneven, and a family’s options may depend heavily on where the father works and what his employer allows. There is also a financial reality. If taking time away means losing income, a family already thinking about rent, food, hospital bills and everything a new baby needs may not experience unpaid leave as much of a choice.
Workplace culture matters too. A policy may exist, but fathers still need to feel able to use it without being treated as less committed employees. This is why the conversation cannot simply become another instruction for fathers to “step up”. We also have to consider whether workplaces make it realistically possible for them to be present.
Extended family and paid help add another layer. For many Nigerian families, Grandma, relatives, nannies and other support can make the newborn period more manageable. That help can be invaluable without replacing either parent’s involvement. Grandma can cook while Dad learns to settle the baby. A nanny can help with an older child while both parents learn the newborn’s routine. Having a village does not have to mean Dad becomes a visitor while Mum and the other women manage family life.
Paternity Leave Is About More Than Dad
Perhaps the phrase “paternity leave” makes us look in only one direction: at Dad’s opportunity to spend time with his baby. But that protected time can affect the whole family. It can mean another responsible adult is available while Mum recovers, give Dad space to learn the everyday work of caring for his child and give both parents an opportunity to establish how they want family responsibilities to work before paid work resumes.
It will not solve every imbalance in a home, and it cannot create shared parenting by itself. What it can create is time and opportunity for both people to begin parenthood as active participants.
For a working mum, that can matter long after maternity leave ends. Because returning to paid work is demanding enough without also remaining the only person carrying the baby’s routine and the family’s parenting manual in her head.
Perhaps that is why paternity leave should not be seen simply as time off for Dad. It is part of a bigger question about what we make possible for families when a new baby arrives: do we make room for one parent to recover and care while the other returns to normal, or do we make room for both of them to learn how to parent together?
Editorial note and sources
Sources:
Premium Times, Present at Birth, Absent by Policy: Inside Nigeria’s Parental Leave Challenge, 27 July 2026.
World Health Organization, New Series Highlights the Importance of a Positive Postnatal Experience for All Women and Newborns, 22 February 2024.
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