Fair enough. My point is that for people in the US (and countries with similar regulations) they seem to assume that parental leave is something that must be do

Fair enough. My point is that for people in the US (and countries with similar regulations) they seem to assume that parental leave is something that must be done directly connected to the birth of the child, and when that's up there's no going back. The story is very different here in Sweden where people can save their "parental days" for years if they so chose.