Maternity Benefits in the UK and the US

Maternity is the state of being a mother:
Maternity suits you!
It is also a hospital department for the care of women before and after giving birth and for the care of newly-born babies:
Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.
As an adjective, maternity means “for pregnancy and giving birth”:
a maternity dress
the hospital’s maternity ward
Maternity allowance (also maternity benefit) is money provided by the British government to a woman before and after the birth of her child if she does not receive maternity pay.
Maternity pay (also Statutory Maternity Pay) is a benefit women receive in Britain. It is money paid to a woman by her employer before and after the birth of her child if she has worked for that employer for more than six months.
Maternity leave is the time a mother spends away from work immediately before or after the birth of her baby. Maternity leave is taken with premission from the employer and usually with part or full pay. In Britain, the law says that women who have worked for an employer for more than six months must be given maternity leave with some pay by the employer. In the US, maternity leave is decided by the employer, but many employers do not allow very much.