(Re)Imagining equality and care: parental leave plans among lesbian mothers-to-be in Sweden

Drawing on interviews with 40 lesbian mothers-to-be (20 couples) in Sweden, this study explores how these women plan for the first weeks and months following the birth of their first child. Two ways of planning parental leave were identified among the couples: split leave and combined leave. Split leave is indicative of the broader gender equality discourse in Sweden, in which providing separate care is a core argument for equal parenting. Combined leave, which most couples planned for, thus stands out as unusual. These couples envisioned that the postpartum birth mother would need care and subsequently planned for the non-birth mother to provide this care. By comparing the two approaches, the study analyses norms and expectations as well as limitations and possibilities within the parental leave system and the Swedish gender equality discourse. In light of the findings presented, this study suggests that the postpartum period is overlooked and deprioritised in favour of facilitating a measurable gender equality goal in parental leave.