Most Canadian mothers with young children took some type of maternity leave following childbirth, according to a new study.
Statistics Canada said 90 per cent of children between the ages of one and three living outside Quebec had working mothers who temporarily left their jobs after giving birth.
Their average leave was 44 weeks, the agency said.
About 26 per cent of these children had working fathers who also stayed home after they were born. Fathers took an average of 2.4 weeks off work.
Statistics Canada said most mothers - 83 per cent - took paid leave.
Around one in five mothers took unpaid leave. The average length of paid leave was 40 weeks, while the average for unpaid leave was 4.5 weeks.
"A number of factors, including socio-economic and child and maternal health characteristics, were associated with whether mothers and fathers took leave and with the length of leave," the agency said.
The report covered the 2010-11 period.
