Is The New Parental NICU Leave Enough?

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Sasha-Ann Simons** (0:34)
Hey Chicago, I'm Sasha-Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.
At the end of this podcast, stick around for a rundown of the latest news here in the Chicago area. But first, bringing home a brand new baby, it's something that many parents look forward to. That car seat is installed, the nursery is decorated, and the newborn clothing is folded and tucked away neatly in drawers. But for families with babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, that moment can be delayed by weeks or even months. During that time, parents juggle hospital visits and their duties at work, while also worrying about the health of their premature baby.
A new Illinois law aims to ease some of that burden by guaranteeing parents with babies in the NICU up to 20 days of unpaid, job-protected leave. In this next conversation, we'll hear from a panel of Chicago area moms about what that extra time could mean for families as they navigate one of the most stressful periods of parenthood. At the table with me was Francennett Llamas, a resident of Beecher, Illinois, a mother and founder of The Little Warriors Project. Amanda Santoro, who's a Mount Prospect resident and mom and co-founder of The Little Giraffe Foundation. And Areli Flores is a Chicago resident and mother.
Now, a few more details. Governor Pritzker signed this into law back in September, and it just took effect on June 1st. It entitles parents with children in the NICU some extra unpaid leave that they can use in addition to that Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA. The length of your NICU leave depends on the size of the company. So I started by asking each guest for their thoughts about this new law. Francennett went first.

**Francennett Llamas** (2:16)
Personally, it is a great start.
There's so much that goes into the NICU journey, right? But I think any step forward is a great step. As far as it being unpaid, I do think it is unfortunate because finances, it is a big hit that parents, NICU parents get. However, because of job security being a huge issue, because sometimes it is a long stay in the NICU, I think it is a great step forward. Yeah. And a lot of families will benefit from this.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:58)
Yeah, so issues with the fact that there's no pay during that time, but the fact that they're saying your job is there for you when you come back.

**Francennett Llamas** (3:05)
Yes.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:05)
That's a plus to you. What are you thinking, Amanda?

**Amanda Santoro** (3:09)
Yeah, so my journey with the NICU was 15 years ago. So there's, in my opinion, been quite a lot of progress. And the fact that we're here today speaks volumes to me because this leave was not available at the time.
I was on bed rest for two weeks. So two weeks in my FMLA was burned immediately. And I actually chose to go back to work two days after I gave birth to preserve the remaining FMLA time.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:33)
Two days after giving birth.

**Amanda Santoro** (3:36)
Exactly. And that's just because we knew that we would probably have three and a half, four months in the NICU. And if we take our FMLA time at that time, you have zero days left when those babies come home. And so for me, I do think though it would have been unpaid, that time would have been valuable to help me be more part of their care and help with physical recovery.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:57)
So you can see the evolution, at least with-

**Amanda Santoro** (4:00)
Absolutely.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (4:01)
As far as legislation is concerned. And Areli, what are you thinking?

**Areli Flores** (4:06)
I was taken by surprise. I didn't know that it was even going on, like any law of this.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (4:11)
And you're the newest, we should say, to this journey, right? Your baby's two.

**Areli Flores** (4:15)
Two, yes.
And well, like mentioned, it's a work in progress, but to even start off, it's a big win for us. Because we even shed light to the NICU, it's big. Because I myself didn't even know what the NICU was until I was pushed in there.

**Francennett Llamas** (4:31)
Yes.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (4:32)
We're going to talk more about that, because I find that fascinating to begin with. But let's go back and talk more about your individual journeys here. First of all, did you have complications during your pregnancy? You're not a Francennett.