My wife & I got 60 days & it's OK, can see why this couple that met in S.E. Asia

[theking]

...were shocked.

Some countries really value family bonding and nurturing time with a newborn. My wife and I received a combined 60 days of maternity and paternity paid leave when our daughter was born. It was nice having that time to bond with our baby but yeah, not as nice as what some get in Europe:

American Living Abroad 'Shocked' After Receiving Letter Telling Her She's 'Not Allowed' at Work During Pregnancy (Exclusive)
The American expat tells PEOPLE that slowing down during pregnancy in Germany completely changed how she viewed motherhood, work and community
The letter from HR arrived unexpectedly, and at first, Liza Ebbecke thought something had gone wrong. Instead, the American expat learned she was no longer allowed to continue working during her pregnancy and would still continue receiving pay.

“I was genuinely shocked when I received a letter from HR saying I was not allowed to come into work during my pregnancy,” Ebbecke, 32, tells PEOPLE.

Ebbecke moved to Germany in 2018 after meeting her now-husband while traveling through Southeast Asia. At the time, she says she knew very little about German maternity policies and never imagined she would eventually raise a child abroad.

Over time, however, she noticed coworkers disappearing on extended maternity leave before eventually returning to work. Slowly, Ebbecke says she began understanding how differently Germany approached pregnancy and early parenthood compared to what she had seen growing up in the United States.

Once her own pregnancy began, stepping away from work initially felt unfamiliar and slightly unsettling. On her first day home, Ebbecke remembers wondering how she would possibly fill so much unexpected free time.

“I remember thinking on the first day, ‘How am I going to fill all this time?’ ” she says.

That anxiety eventually gave way to something calmer. Ebbecke filled her days with hobbies, long walks with her dog and quiet routines that allowed her to slow down before becoming a mother.

“It ended up being such a calm and healthy period of life,” she says. “I picked up hobbies, joined an NFL fantasy league, took long walks with my dog and really slowed down before becoming a mom.”