Fortesa Latifi went back to working only one week after giving birth and felt intensely guilty. AdvertisementI didn't want to soak up every minute of 'leave'As a contractor and freelance writer, my maternity leave wasn't a given. Allison Venditti, the founder of Moms at Work, an organization for working moms, said leaving maternity leave early isn't uncommon. "The most important thing, I think, is for people to have choice — choice in how they approach work and family, choice to go back to work early, choice to take more time off," Venditti said. We deserve federally mandated maternity leave; it's truly barbaric that we are one of only six countries without guaranteed paid maternity leave.

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Persons: Fortesa Latifi, Latifi, —, Wegener, she's, Emily Kaplan, Kaplan, Allison Venditti, I've, Emily Scorgie, Venditti Organizations: Service Locations: Los Angeles, Kalamazoo , Michigan, Silver Spring , Maryland, Dallas , Texas, American