On mat leave, am I entitled to benefits?

OP because then he will have all the fun times with the children while you have the routine.

Normal for children is every other weekend and if they are school age half the school holidays.

If the kids are born here and the father is also resident in the UK then he can apply to court to stop you removing them without his permission.

You can put into the benefits calculator online your monthly salary now which is whatever your statutory maternity pay is - you then add your child benefits, mortgage payment etc and it will calculate uc - it won't be much as statutory maternity is higher than income support already, mortgage is interest only and a loan.

If today is the first day you've thought about it being better, I think you're jumping the gun a little bit. What has made you feel this way so suddenly?

OP your best bet is to find a local citizens advice office and go there with your paperwork e.g. pay slips to find out what benefits you are entitled to.

Ordinarily you aren't entitled to extra benefits while being on maternity leave just the benefits e.g. universal credit, child benefit you would get if you were working.

You should also put in a claim for child maintenance via the CMS which you can do online. Though it maybe better to ask your husband straight out for some regular monthly child maintenance as he may give you more especially if he's self-employed.

Unfortunately lots of parents are forced back into work once they are on statutory maternity/parental pay as unless you have savings it is simply not viable for most couples even full paid time of let alone the full year.

And as the PP said yes the father can prevent you returning to your home country with the children. Your best bet is to talk to him and sort out child arrangements so you don't have to deal with all the childcare costs. Also make sure you don't allow him to see them every weekend only as when they go to school you are setting yourself up for a whole heap of trouble.

I cannot advise you on the benefits question. As for moving to your home country, generally the father can stop you. Are the children British? Were they born here?