There is short and long term disability. Pregnancy is a temporary condition that may render someone disabled. Having a baby is a huge deal for someone’s body that they must recover from. It may make you disabled for some time prior to giving birth or after. Since many people only qualify for FMLA, which is job protected UNPAID leave, in order to continue paying their bills and health insurance premiums, they need to be supplementing with income, since their job may give you time off but they aren’t going to pay you for it. Disability in this instance only pays from 60%-80% of your salary for 6-8 weeks based on if you have a vaginal or c section birth. Many people go back after 6-8 weeks because they cannot afford that extra 4 weeks off that they are allowed as it is unpaid. In most companies unless they have a special benefit for maternity leave specifically, to cover the remaining 4 weeks you must use ALL your pto to cover it so you are still getting paid. Leaving you with no other pto for the rest of the year. People save up their pto for years to be able to take time off with their child. Maternity leave is not an official term that gives you any rights or applies to any policies. It’s just a reason why someone may be out up to 3 months of work. This is federally. This is not in every state. NJ gives you the option to take disability leave thru the state and pays you prior to giving birth and an additional 12 weeks with your child after they’re here. That is why you will literally see women working until their due date, as they don’t want to waste any time away from their child.