A new care system in Uruguay has recently extended parental leave after a birth of a child.

LaRed21 reported that parents of newborn children can enjoy more time with their kids to better guide them in their development.

It explained that both the mother and the father now have the right to work on a part-time basis until the baby reaches six months old.

In addition, parents who are independent workers will also be given 10 days leave shouldered by social security, while those who are dependents can take 13 days of consecutive leaves.

Dependent workers, as per LaRed21, will be given a subsidy for each day they are absent, which is equivalent to the daily average of their eligible allowances for the last six months.

Three years ago, mothers were granted with 14 weeks of maternity leave, two weeks more than the time they enjoyed prior to the passing of a law on parental benefits in Uruguay.

An earlier Montevideo report indicated that the new law in Uruguay also gives exceptions for special cases like premature delivery or an illness acquired after childbirth.

According to El Observador, the Uruguayan Association of Parents and Children Premature (Aupaprem) called on the government last year to also extend the maternity leave of those giving premature birth.

The group explained that parents of these children need to spend more time with their infants who remain inside the ICU of hospitals for a few months.

Aupaprem president Andrea Milgron said in the El Observador report that a mother of a premature baby would need to have at least two to three months time with her baby after leaving the hospital.

The same report claimed that 1.2 million of the 15 million premature babies born worldwide die because they are not given proper medical care and attention.

Uruguay's new law on parental benefits also states that parents can be absent in their work to attend to their duties involving their children.

This legislation in the country marks an important period for parents, especially mothers, who are granted more time to spend with their newborn children by law.

A study on infant feeding last year revealed that mothers have more career concerns that interrupt breastfeeding for their infants. Their work usually gets in the way of their breastfeeding responsibilities.

"At a national level, 11 percent of women said that they stopped breastfeeding 'for work reasons,' the study said, noting that the new law in the country will lower these percentage results.