00:00 Cat Avril's journey to motherhood hasn't been easy.
00:06 Her baby Archie came almost three months earlier than expected.
00:09 He was 28 weeks and four days and weighed just over one kilo.
00:17 He was very, very sick.
00:19 By the time she was able to take her new baby home,
00:22 Cat had already used all of her paid parental leave.
00:25 My 18 weeks of paid parental leave was spent medically,
00:29 not taking home a baby and enjoying it and settling into a family.
00:36 Families like Cat's are now calling on the Federal Government
00:39 to provide extended leave for parents of premature babies.
00:43 We know they're so vulnerable already due to mental health challenges
00:46 and we really believe helping with this financial stress
00:49 will take a lot of pressure off Australian families.
00:51 Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says
00:54 the Federal Government's changes to paid parental leave by 2026
00:58 will provide flexibility for families.
01:01 Cat Avril says more leave would have taken off a lot of pressure.
01:05 What we have gone through is not this beautiful
01:09 welcome to the world family experience.
01:13 It's so mentally taxing on the parents, financially taxing, everything.
01:19 Now, more than a year on from his birth, Archie is developing in strides.
01:24 He's just such a determined, strong little baby.
01:28 Something that he taught me is how much strength he has
01:32 before he even needs to fight.
01:34 A fight the Avrils are continuing for other families like theirs.
01:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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