US: "If she has that baby in April and takes off six weeks, she's worthless..."

^^ Agreed. I was convinced it would take me time to get pregnant so was shocked that it happened within a month of deciding to try. I barely qualified for my company's maternity leave as a result.

Why would any company want to hire someone who can leave for a year?  You have to pay them, pay the person who replaces them, give them leave when they get back, keep their position open...

Actually depending on how long the Mum has worked for a particular employer the government either pays all of her Maternity Allowance or reimburses her employer for most of her Statutory Maternity Pay.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_10018741

I don't think women should have to plan their pregnancies around anything to do with their careers...actually I think that's absurd.  If you *choose* to...that's one thing...but implying a woman *should* do that is just 

Personally I couldn't accept a position if I knew I couldn't fulfill the major task I was hired for.  If she had worked there for years and it was just unlucky for the employers for her baby to be due during that period, that would be different. 

Also, it's possible that the people hiring her didn't know she was pregnant (I wasn't showing at all with my first pregnancy until 8 months on).  I don't think the man who made the comments would have been involved in the actual hiring process so if that is the case, he has every right to voice his concerns over the issue (although he was pretty tactless at doing that).