Barbara Palvin is receiving acclaim for striding in the Victoria's Secret fashion show in lingerie six weeks after giving birth, yet she prefers to avoid the spotlight on the achievement.

In several interviews the Hungarian-born model minimized the accomplishment and noted that it is typical for new mothers in the United States to return to work on a comparable schedule.

"In the US, maternity leave is six to eight weeks. I'm six weeks tomorrow, so nothing major here. I'm just doing what every woman does in America," the 33-year-old told USA Today backstage at the event held in Los Angeles on October 18.

"And I only have to walk down a runway," Palvin told Page Six.

In 2025 the United States remained the sole nation among the 38 OECD countries, which include the UK, Australia, and Japan, without any national paid maternity leave policy according to the OECD Family Database.

New mothers in the US may receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act provided they satisfy eligibility rules such as 12 months of prior employment and at least 1,250 hours worked in the preceding year along with an employer size requirement of 50 or more staff within 75 miles.

Federal employees generally qualify for 12 weeks of paid leave while private firms face no legal obligation to compensate staff during parental leave. Certain states including California, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Maine operate paid family leave programs though most states do not.

Recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis indicates that mothers in the US took an average of 7.2 weeks away from work to care for a newborn.

Palvin who married actor Dylan Sprouse in July 2023 welcomed her first child a daughter named Sylvie on September 7.

Named a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2019 Palvin first appeared on the runway in 2012. At the 2025 show Sprouse informed reporters that Palvin had fractured her foot four weeks prior and completed the walk on a half-healed injury.

The inaugural Victoria's Secret Fashion Show occurred at The Plaza Hotel in New York City in 1995. It received its first online broadcast in 1999 and drew such high viewership that the hosting platform experienced a crash.