France

Mais, bien sûr, French women receive full pay for 16 weeks for their first and second babies and up to 26 weeks for any children. Plus, moms are entitled to up to three years of job-protected leave with stipends for in-home nannies, subsidized childcare and generous monthly allowances. All these goodies are widely credited with bolstering France’s birthrate as other European nations watch theirs plunge.