With the modification, a part of the days prior to delivery that have not been taken by the beneficiary may be added to the 45 days after the baby's birth. | Photo: @LuchoXBolivia

La Paz, July 11 (RHC)-- The President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, has enacted the Law of Partial Deferral of the Prenatal Period to the Postnatal Period in a ceremony at the Casa Grande del Pueblo, where dozens of working women from different fields were present.

The law allows pregnant workers of public and private entities to transfer part of the 45 days of prenatal to the stage after childbirth, until completing 90 days, to spend more time with their newborn.  "We are very pleased to enact this law of high social content, of justice with working mothers who today finally have the guarantee of the State, through this law, that those 90 days will be fulfilled. We are going to make sure that this is so, both in the public and private sectors", said the President.

The legislation modifies Article 31 of Decree Law 13214, in force since 1975, on the Bolivian Social Security System, which established the right to maternity allowance for 45 days before and 45 days after childbirth. This benefit is not fully enjoyed by female workers due to different circumstances.

With the modification, a part of the days prior to the birth that have not been taken by the beneficiary, may be added to the 45 days after the birth of the baby.  The Minister of Labor, Verónica Navia, indicated that with this new regulation mothers will not have to use vacation days to take care of their newborns.

The representative of the Women Workers' Bloc of the Bolivian Federation of Mine Workers' Union, Elizabet Alcón, thanked for the enactment of the law and stated that "as of today, all mothers will be guaranteed the full 90 days".

Bolivian President Arce explained that it is a "very important" law because it guarantees the living conditions of working women and their rights for the 90 days of pre and post natal.  Arce explained that the law was scheduled to be enacted on May 27th, Mother's Day, but the "bureaucracies" of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly did not speed up its approval.