Or embryos in fish tanks, as some would have it. I do think the key is getting men to commit time and energy in the process early on, but I'm not waiting around for the fancy biology. Carrying the baby around *after* it's out would be a nice reform.
Where fathers can take paid parental leave, as in Sweden, the gov't found that they wouldn't take it unless they were induced to by 'use it or lose it' policies. When the parents could split the year of leave however they wanted, the women ended up taking it. Now men have a month they can either take or lose. Anecdotally, this has induced them to get into baby work and, we hope, even into the washing up.
Here in the U.S., unpaid leave (and only 12 weeks of that) pretty much guarantees the lower-paid spouse will take the time, if anyone can afford to.
A female co-worker of mine gave birth, spent a full two weeks at home, and then was back on her 40 + hr. schedule. Can't imagine it. Before '96 she would've had to save up a years worth of vacation and sick leave to have her baby--and that's on a state job!
What's the parental leave picture in Australia these days?
Jenny Brown