Fearful Women Shun Maternity Leave, Study Reveals

America is the only modern, industrialized country that does not offer paid maternity leave to new mothers. And in the U.S., 51 percent of new mothers lack paid leave from their employers. Now, a new study finds that many of those women who do have maternity leave from employers aren't using it in full.

The study released Thursdayby CareerBuilder found that nearly 1 in 3 (30 percent) of women who have had a child in the past three years have cut short their maternity leaves, not taking as much as their employers' policies would allow. Of women who have had children in the past three years, less than half -- 44 percent -- took eight weeks or more of maternity leave. The rest took less, often far less.

According to the survey, 12 percent of women went back to work after taking a leave of just two weeks or less. CareerBuilder, an AOL Jobs partner, speculated that "competitive work environments" and "demanding positions" are discouraging women from taking full advantage of maternity leave.