McCain went on to say that throughout her maternity leave, she often thought about the "privilege" she had in having time to recover from her complications and bond with her daughter.
"As I thought about it, the more angry I got that there weren't women in the rest of America that had the same kind of luxury that I had working here at 'The View,'" she said.
McCain pointed out the conservative emphasis on being "the party of family values" even when there is a lack of support for a mandatory paid maternity leave for all women.
"Everything about our ideology sort of stems from the nucleus of the family," McCain said.
"We are leaving women in this country without [that] capacity and ability -- unless you have an employer that allows you to take care of your child -- to heal physically, which is something that needs to happen," she added.
MORE: Lawmaker calls for more maternity leave after giving birth during legislative session
But she noted that supported for mandatory paid maternity leave is increasing. Senators
Marco Rubio,
Joni Ernst and
Kyrsten Sinema support an improved maternity leave policy in the United States, she said.
"This is something that's really, a really dark spot for our country. We are the only developing nation that doesn't supply women with paid family leave," she said. "We as conservatives have to come together and allow all women in this country no matter where they're from or their socioeconomic class the capacity to have what I just had, which is three months of bonding time and breastfeeding and healing."
abcnews.go.com
