About Maternity Tally

Maternity Tally is a small, focused set of calculators for the questions pregnant people and new parents actually need answered. The flagship is the maternity leave calculator, which figures out — for your specific state, salary, employer, and birth type — how many weeks of leave you get, how much of that is paid, and what the action items are to actually claim the benefits you're entitled to.

We exist because the answers to these questions are scattered across state government websites, employer HR documents, and federal labor law — none of which speak to each other. The big pregnancy media sites (BabyCenter, WhatToExpect, Pampers) are media companies first, calculators second. Their tools are bolt-ons to massive editorial properties, often dated, and don't handle the cases that fall outside the typical "married, full-time, $80k, vaginal delivery, supportive employer" profile. The big calculator hubs (Omnicalculator, Calculator.net) are generic; they treat pregnancy as one category among hundreds.

The aim is not to compete with the big sites on volume. It's to be more correct on the cases the big calculators don't handle well. Specifically:

• State-specific math for California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon, Rhode Island, Delaware, DC, Maine, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Florida — the right replacement formula, the right cap, the right interaction with FMLA. Sixteen jurisdictions cover ~55% of US births; more states are queued.
• Pregnancy after loss — a dedicated reference for federal protections (FMLA, PWFA, PDA, ADA) and the state-by-state reproductive-loss leave laws (CA SB 848, IL FBLA, MA Earned Sick Time expansion, MN Pregnancy Loss Leave Act, WA PFML SB 5217), plus community and crisis resources.
• IVF, IUI, and fertility treatment — a dedicated reference for time off during active treatment (PWFA, FMLA serious-health-condition, state sick leave), failed-cycle bereavement leave, and the state insurance mandates that govern who has to cover fertility care.
• LGBTQ+ families, donor cycles, and surrogacy — built into the calculator's question flow rather than bolted on. The methodology page documents how the four role options map to same-sex couples, donor-cycle families, intended parents via surrogacy, and single parents.
• Multiples (twins, triplets) — the wizard asks; the engine applies state-documented recovery extensions where they exist and flags the medical-certification reality where they don't.
• The financial reality of having a baby in the US — the remaining unfinished piece. Wage replacement is one half; out-of-pocket pregnancy costs, NICU exposure, and childcare are the other. We'll build a separate calculator for it. Not done yet.

What we believe

• Sources on every page. Every numeric value cites a primary source — usually a state department of labor, sometimes federal regulation, occasionally a peer-reviewed clinical paper. If we can't cite it, we don't publish it.
• Loss-aware language by default. Pregnancy doesn't always end in birth. The calculator output is factual rather than celebratory; a dedicated page covers leave rights and recovery resources after miscarriage, stillbirth, or failed fertility treatment, with federal and state-by-state coverage.
• Inclusive defaults. "Birthing parent" or "you" — not "mom" or "the dad". Same-sex couples, donor-cycle families, and intended parents via surrogacy are explicit options in the question flow; the methodology page documents how each family structure maps to the calculator.
• No popups, no paywalls, no upsells. Ads fund the site; that's all. No newsletter capture, no "premium tier", no email-gated content.
• Fast on a phone. Pages load instantly, even on a slow connection — especially important when you're checking this from your phone in a waiting room.

Data freshness

State paid family leave programs change every year — most on January 1, when new wage caps and contribution rates take effect. Some change mid-year through legislation. Maternity Tally runs an automated weekly monitor that watches each state government's program pages for changes. When a change is detected, it's flagged for human review before anything updates in the calculator — results are never silently changed. The methodology page has the full picture.

Get in touch

For data corrections, bug reports, or suggestions about scenarios we should model: contact us. We read everything.

What this is not

• Not legal advice. The calculator's output is informational. For decisions with legal consequences (employment disputes, denied benefits, complex situations), consult an employment attorney or your state's labor commissioner office.
• Not medical advice. Recovery weeks, eligibility certifications, and accommodation decisions belong with your healthcare provider.
• Not a financial planner. The dollar figures show your wage replacement during leave; they don't model taxes withheld, family budget impact, or longer-term financial planning.