Unpaid time off for a mother before and after childbirth, ideally without prejudice to the mother’s returning to her job on the same level and promotion track. In many large corporations, maternity leave (often of about three months) and related fringe benefits are routinely provided to pregnant women. But in many others, especially smaller firms, such leave and benefits are not guaranteed, and indeed the announcement of pregnancy can lead to summary firing. Even in those firms where maternity leave and benefits are offered, many women who return to work after leave find that they have been shunted onto a slower promotion track, the so-called mommy track. Recognizing the need for a national policy regarding maternity leave, the wider parental and medical leave, and related adoption leave, numerous federal legislators have attempted to pass a Parental and Medical Leave Act allowing both parents time off with their newborn or adopted babies or in cases of serious illness in the family. As of mid-1990, however, no compromise has been reached on such a law.