More babies should mean more leave, says triplets' mom

A Calgary mother who is on maternity leave with triplets said benefits for parents who have multiple births in Canada should be based on the number of children.

Laurette Pineda gave birth to three identical girls in June 2007 but is eligible, under federal and Alberta employment laws, for only one year ofparental leave from her job as an IT analyst.

She said the one-year leave feels like her daughters are being treated as one child.

"I would really like to see that parents of multiples get the number of years [of benefits and leave] as they have children. You know if you have twins to get two years, if you have triplets, get three years," she told CBC News Monday.

"I don't think anyone's really asking for anything more than what anybody else gets. We just want the same."

About 5,000 mothers like Pineda have multiple births in Canada every year, which are becoming more common partly because of fertility drugs.

Group has asked for meeting with federal government

Multiple Births Canada, a support group with 2,000 members, has been trying to convince the federal government that parents of multiples need more time to bond with their babies and is lobbying for one year of leave per child.

"It doesn't matter to them that in Sweden they give you an extra six months of leave per child [for multiple births]. In Canada, that's not the way that they're looking at it," said Gail Moore, the group's spokeswoman and a mother of twins, from her home in northern Ontario.

Moore said the group has tried unsuccessfully to meet with the federal Conservative government.

Pineda loves every second at home with her girls Amaya, Chanel and Alexis, who were naturally conceived,and hopes the rules will change soon so she can spend more time with them.

"I feel like they're all cupped into being one person, one little baby. And they're not. They're three individuals. They have three different personalities yet they're all treated as one and there's no special time given to them, so it's frustrating."