Maternity leave is synonymous with women. But over time, paternity leave came into the same equation too. Maybe the better term should be parental leave, which infers the importance of both the man and the woman to take time off and bond with their newborn after delivery. Anecdotally, men appear not to embrace paternity leave with as much gusto as their women folk.
Paternal involvement in pregnancy and childbirth begins at the time a couple decides to conceive. This is a period of intense feelings and expectations, which should be sustained for the whole of the pregnancy and beyond. Ideally, men should accompany women during pregnancy clinic visits. This keeps them with first-hand updates about the pregnancy progression, and important milestones. There would then be a natural progression to the eventual paternity leave.