STAY-at-home and work-at-home mothers will lose out under the proposed paid maternity leave scheme, advocates say.

The scheme would award about $10,000 over 18 weeks to women who have been working more than 10 hours a week before the birth of their baby.

But those who haven't worked will receive only $5000 as part of a revamped maternity allowance, paid in a lump sum when their baby is born.

Of the 285,000 babies born last year, 175,000 were born to women who had worked before giving birth.

This leaves 110,000 who did not work while they were pregnant, and would not be eligible for paid maternity leave, Productivity Commission figure show. Recent ABS stats show 58 per cent of women who have a paid job while pregnant quit once their baby is born to take care of their child.

This means they may not be eligible for paid maternity leave for their subsequent children.

Yesterday, Natalie Adams, an advocate for stay-at-home mothers, said the proposed scheme was unfair and unnecessarily divided mothers into those who were in paid employment and those who were not.

"It's more support for parents who go back to work - there's no encouragement for parents to be at home," she said.

Ms Adams, who organised a successful Victorian Thank You Day for mothers who stay at home, said the move was "making a claim that we don't work, but we work as hard as anyone, and often make major sacrifices along the way".

"It should be an equal choice for women, and women should be treated equally regardless of whether they work or not."

Melissa Khalinsky, the founder of Business Mums Network - a support service for mums setting up small businesses - said it was unclear whether mothers who worked for themselves and might not earn an income would receive maternity leave.

"Work-at-home mothers don't seem to be considered," Ms Khalinsky said.

"Do we qualify for maternity leave or the new baby bonus payment? It's a crucial question because a lot of women make the decision to start their own business once they start a family. And they may not be able to prove they worked 10 hours a week because they are their own employer."

Melbourne mums are also divided about the benefits of the proposed scheme. Melanie Baker, 30, a Cranbourne stay-at-home mum to Elly, 22 months and Bailey, 6, said the move was disappointing.

"It's a double standard - it needs to be looked at equally as staying at home is a 24/7 job and we work as hard as anyone else," Ms Baker said.

"It's important for mums to be able to stay with their kids as long as they can and work as early childhood educators in the home," she added.

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