Before a baby is born, expectant mothers in Sweden get prenatal care through free or subsidised courses that help them prepare for the delivery, with breathing techniques, coaching sessions and group support.

Women who work typically strenuous jobs that require heavy lifting or in risky work environments such as construction sites are entitled to additional pregnancy benefits (graviditetspenning) by taking time off work earlier during their pregnancy. Benefits can be paid as early as 60 days (two months) into the pregnancy and continue up to 11 days before the due date. The amount received is roughly 80 per cent of the mother’s daily pay and is paid by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.

Many Swedish hospitals have adjoining ‘hotels’ where new mothers and their partners may stay for two or three days (with all meals included) after a birth so nurses can monitor the mothers and provide postnatal care for newborns.

#2 A very long paid parental leave

In Sweden, parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave when a child is born or adopted. This number is super high by international standards (see the infographic below) and is perhaps Sweden’s most famous argument when it comes to being a child-friendly system.

For 390 of the days, parents are entitled to nearly 80 per cent of their normal pay. Benefits are calculated on a maximum monthly income of SEK 37,083, as of 2015. The remaining 90 days are paid at a flat rate. Those who are not in employment are also entitled to paid parental leave.

Parental leave can be taken up until a child turns eight. The leave entitlement applies to each child (except in the case of multiple births), so parents can accumulate leave from several children.

Outside the 480 paid days, parents in Sweden also have the legal right to reduce their normal working hours by up to 25 per cent until the child turns eight. Do keep in mind, however, that you get paid only for the time you work.

#3 Gender equality on the agenda

Walk around any Swedish city or town and you’re likely to find fathers pushing prams and sharing coffee with each other while feeding their babies in cafés and parks. Yes, Sweden is home both to latte moms and latte dads. Here, as one journalist put it, men can have it all.

In Sweden’s efforts to achieve gender equality, each parent is entitled to 240 of the 480 days of paid parental leave. Each parent has 90 days reserved exclusively for him or her. Should a father – or a mother for that matter – decide not to take them, they cannot be transferred to the partner.

Today, men in Sweden take nearly a quarter of all parental leave – a figure the government hopes to improve.

#4 Monthly allowance for children

Aside from paid leave, the government provides an additional monthly child allowance (barnbidrag) until a child reaches the age of 16. This allowance is SEK 1,050 per month per child (2015), money parents can use to help with the costs of caring for their children.

If you have more than one child, you also get an extra family supplement (flerbarnstillägg), which increases further with each additional child. So, a family with six children receives not only SEK 6,300 extra per month in child allowance, but also an additional SEK 4,114 per month in family supplement simply because they have six children (figures from 2015).