Background:

Maternity protection rights incorporate comprehensive benefits that should be available to pregnant or breastfeeding working women.

Research Aim:

To describe South Africa’s maternity protection legal and policy landscape and compare it to global recommendations.

Method:

A prospective cross-sectional comparative policy analysis was used to review and describe national policy documents published from 1994–2021. Entitlements were mapped and compared to International Labour Organization standards. The document analysis was supplemented by interviews conducted with key national government department informants. Thematic analysis was used to evaluate policy and interview content.

Results:

Elements of maternity protection policy are incorporated into South Africa’s constitutional dispensation, and some measures are consistent with international labor and social security standards. However, the policy framework is fragmented and difficult to interpret. The fragmented policy environment makes it challenging for employees to know their maternity rights’ entitlements and for employers to understand their responsibilities. Confusion regarding maternity protection rights is amplified by the complexity of ensuring access to different forms of maternal protection in pre- and postnatal stages, oversight by multiple government departments, and heterogenous working environments.

Conclusions:

Maternity protection in South Africa is fragmented and difficult to access. Overcoming these challenges requires legislative and implementation measures to ensure greater policy coherence and comprehensive guidance on maternity protection rights. Addressing gaps in maternity protection in South Africa may provide insights for other countries with shortcomings in maternity protection provisions and could contribute to improved breastfeeding practices.

中文翻译：

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南非生育保护权的立法和政策：支离破碎的状况

 背景：

生育保护权包括怀孕或哺乳职业妇女应享有的全面福利。

 研究目的：

描述南非的生育保护法律和政策状况，并将其与全球建议进行比较。

 方法：

采用前瞻性横断面比较政策分析来回顾和描述 1994 年至 2021 年发布的国家政策文件。绘制了权利图并与国际劳工组织标准进行了比较。文件分析还通过对主要国家政府部门知情人的采访进行了补充。主题分析用于评估政策和访谈内容。

 结果：

生育保护政策的要素已纳入南非宪法，部分措施符合国际劳工和社会保障标准。然而，政策框架分散且难以解释。分散的政策环境使得雇员很难了解自己的生育权利，雇主也很难了解自己的责任。确保在产前和产后阶段获得不同形式的孕产妇保护的复杂性、多个政府部门的监督以及不同的工作环境，加剧了孕产妇保护权利的混乱。

 结论：

南非的生育保护分散且难以获得。克服这些挑战需要立法和实施措施，以确保生育保护权利方面的政策更加一致和全面指导。解决南非生育保护方面的差距可能会为生育保护条款存在缺陷的其他国家提供见解，并有助于改善母乳喂养做法。