Am I being unreasonable to work 'till 40 weeks pregnant?

[Nightfall1983]

It's my first post on mumsnet, just registered today though I have been "lurking" for a few weeks :)

I'm currently 29 weeks (29+2) pregnant with my first (v. excited), I am planning on working until the day before my due date (due on a Saturday, want to work till the Friday) so I'll be 39+6 on my last day - I want to do this because:

• Although I'm not planning on returning to work after the having baby the maternity pay is still important to help ease us into budgeting for being on one wage only. Also I get 6 weeks on 90% pay so if I'm off for say two weeks before my due date and babe is 2 weeks late then I will only have 2 weeks pay left! (*I know I'll continue to get the statutory payment for a few months after this)

• I'm a worrier. Big time. Always have been. If I have a couple of weeks off before the birth I don't think I'll be able to relax, I'll just be stressing about the birth and worrying if everything is ok - I can imagine myself doing kick-counts every half hour, that sort of thing.

• It's the end of August, so much as I'd love two weeks off in the sunshine it will probably rain, so why bother? :)

• I've had a pretty easy pregnancy so far - touch wood. Fairly nasty morning sickness for the first 20 weeks which did make work hard but haven't yet had to take any time off. Morning sickness gone now and the last couple of months have really enjoyed being pregnant - but I know it's going to start getting harder!

So tell me - am I crazy? How much time did you have off?

take it a day at a time. you are in the 'nice' trimester.

I worked till around 39 I only stopped because I had a 15 min walk from bus stop to work & I physically couldn't walk that far!

I was planning to go back 4 weeks after but I was too sore, went back at 10 instead.

It's easy to say 'I'll do this, however see how you feel & go with that! Good luck!

It depends on your job.

I ended up with 10 weeks off before ds - he was due 15th sept and I had the summer holidays. HE was 2 weeks late though. 10 weeks was far, far too long.

I aimed for 38 weeks this time, but gave up at around 36 because the thought of having to battle through breakfasting a toddler and another two weeks of my bottom set yr 10 (lovely though they are), just pushed me over the edge.

You sound like you have a nice company to work for. See how you feel, if the weather gets hot you may wish to finish earlier than you're currently planning.

No YANBU and I don't really see why you should need to justify it to anyone really. Check with your work to see how flexible they will be if you decide you can't manage it after all, if they won't be flexible then it's worth considering leaving slightly sooner just in case you are really struggling by the end. Your work may also be able to give you lighter duties (depending on what your job is). You should also realistically reflect on how well you will cope working for that long - is your job quite demanding/physical?

I'm currently 38+1 and am due to finish at exactly 39 weeks. Like you I also considered staying on until 40, though opted not to as I was more concerned about worrying my service-users by staying on that long. At 37 weeks I was becoming desperate to leave early due to having had vulval varicose veins since 23 weeks and being in quite a lot of pain every day, especially when doing the physically more demanding tasks (which my work is made up of). Now that I'm almost there at 39 I'm really glad I didn't opt to leave sooner - I would've been going out of my mind with boredom had I been at home alone all day for weeks on end. The varicose veins seems to have eased up a bit as well - perhaps as the baby's head is engaging?

You're not mad, but you do need to think deeply about how realistic staying on at work until 40 weeks is considering your work load. And as I said earlier, really check out how flexible your work will be should you have any problems.

I was supposed to work up til a week before due date..... DS decided he wanted to come out 4wks early. Never mind it got me out of the office move.

I would also say that I bless the time I spent in the last week of ML before baby making and freezing scones and casseroles and soups because we lived off them for the first month and my God, it was helpful. So even if you are not able to sit and rest and sleep, you can do some forward planning nesting things that you will be happy you did after the baby comes.

I finished work at 5pm on the Friday (at 42+1!!!) with DD1 before I was induced on the Sarurday

I was working when I felt the first contraction with DD2 at 40+2

So it is do-able. I worked from home at the time though so I was able to dress comfortably and have a snooze if I needed to.

Good luck - hope it all goes to plan for you :o

I worked until 38 weeks and was exhausted. It was also the summer and the heat made me feel even worse. I was so looking forward to a fortnights rest but ended up being induced the day after I finished work due to a complication so had no rest at all.

Chances are you may be overdue with your first so may have some free time before the birth but bear in mind those last few weeks are completely physically draining and sleep is difficult.

YANBU, you know your own pregnancy and how it's going.

At almost 42 weeks I could still have jogged around the block

X-posted. It's in my work's contract that I need to give at least 28 days written notice prior to any changes I want to the start of my ML. But that's what it says in the contract, in practice they would've been fine letting me go with a lot less notice and handing them in a back-dated letter. Your work sounds quite nice, perhaps they'd be equally kind?

Oops missed one: nancy75 I thought this too originally but no, there is no rule on how long you can work - I could plan to work till 41+5 if I wanted :-) There is a rule on how early you can leave, but I'm past that now anyway...

Also whoever asked: I do have a new days holidays but I'm planning on using them to ease of my work load in the last few weeks. Starting in two weeks I have at least half a day off a week (mostly monday mornings yay!) and then in the last two/three weeks I plan to take of monday morning and all day wednesday to easy me in and eek out my time at work :-)

I finished work at 35 weeks to tie in with half-term and a move abroad. If we hadn't moved I would have gone on until 38 weeks. I found the last two weeks exhausting and don't think I could have gone on teaching much longer.

If you have to hand over to someone you might want to do that around 37 weeks just in case.

Don't forget your holiday entitlement.

remember that your due date is just the middle point in your due window (a couple of weeks either side of it!)

no way would I have been able to work till 40 weeks, I know some could, but I just couldn't. Don't set anything in stone

Chances are you may be overdue with your first so may have some free time before the birth but bear in mind those last few weeks are completely physically draining and sleep is difficult

No, they can be physically draining and sleep can be difficult for some but not everyone is the same.

You say you're not planning to return to work. Check your terms and conditions. Where I work (NHS) you have to pay back all your maternity pay if you don't return to work.

As for working throughout pregnancy, good luck! I only made it to 26 weeks (but I was carrying twins and feeling pretty damn lousy).

Hi,
I had my baby on Sunday morning (yesterday).
We shut the shop at 5pm saturday night,
and opened at 9 this morning.

But, it's our own new business, so perhaps a bit different, if we're closed we'll never make it as a going concern.

I felt well enough to carry on (I only really do the paperwork and potter after the kids in the back room).

If you feel able, and there's no HSE concerns with working after a certain point, then why not?

YANBU if you're feeling fine with your pregnancy. Although I went off at 37 weeks and look back on those last 3 weeks with no DCs as being the most relaxing time I've EVER had .

Btw how have you managed to get maternity pay if you're not planning on returning to work? Your company must be v nice indeed. Mine told me I'd have to pay it all back if I didn't come back to work

Haven't read the thread, but in answer to OP, I don't see why not but it is very individual.

I felt AOK right up to day before ds arrived, and the labour was short and sweet, so for me it was totally fine, and working would have been a useful distraction. So long as you are organised. I did have time off however, as I wasn't very organised so had some preparations I needed to do and used the time off for that (1 week).

You get longer ML after the birth that way. :D

sugarice DizzyKipper You are both right, work is so nice and flexible that I will ask how 'strict' the 28 days notice is. I wouldn't be surprises if they were happy with two weeks or less - esp given that I will have everything wrapped up . Handover is a bit up in the air, it's not the sort of job you could get temporary cover for and despite me telling them that I won't be going back when I told them I was pregnant at 12 weeks it's only this week that they started advertising for someone new. I doubt they will have hired by the time I leave. I will do mini-handovers with colleagues and can do these weeks in advance

Napdamnyou I am super organised (perhaps too much so). Not only is all the baby stuff bought and installed/set up, all the clothes and bedding washed, ironed and put away in protective wrapping and my hospital bag packed and ready but I have also started making and freezing extra portions of dinner for the weeks after birth. Also being a worrier I tend towards insomnia, work is the best thing for helping me to sleep regularly - though maybe the exhaustion of late pregnancy will be enough :-)

medievalgirl ipanicked This only applies at those workplaces nice enough to give you 'extra' maternity pay. If they only give you statutory (like mine) they can't ask for it back whether or not you return... And they HAVE to pay it, it's the law...

I did so many useful things in my last few weeks before DS was born like:
bought all presents and cards in advance for every birthday comming up in the next 3 months
sorted out all our paper work, got all our tax refund stuff sorted, filed everything so it was easy to find
Stocked up on thank you cards, a photo printer and photo paper, stamps and envelopes
Had a big clear out for DH to do a car boot sale
Read parenting books (no time to read them when you are a parent!)
pre washed all of DSs bedding and clothing (just as well as he did turn out to have eczema so would have reacted)
We shampooed the carpets (again worth it because of eczema)

That was the last time our household paperwork was ever in order

I worked till 39 weeks in a very similar field to the OP; wished I'd stuck at work for an extra week as the first week of Mat leave was far too long for my liking. However, once I got to 40 weeks the tiredness kicked in and suddenly loved having the time off. (baby arrived at 40+11)

I think the law is that if you have a day off sick for a pregnancy related reason in the final 4 weeks before the due date, your mat leave automatically starts the next day. So no need to review how you think you'll feel in 4 weeks time- if you can't cope with work at 38 weeks just need to take a day off for tiredness/backache/whatever else and the leave will start. That's what I was banking on anyway....

I'd aim to get to 40 weeks next time I think :o)

A lot can change as so many have said.

Find out exactly how much notice your company will need before you take off and then mark a day close to the due date if you feel you will be able for it, then give the required notice. If you end up being admitted before then for some sort of emergency they can't fault you. Talk with them and see how flexible you can be about setting a date but get any assurances in writing.

Pregnancy is unpredictable requiring some date set in stone is a bit silly when you think about it, as things can happen in the last weeks to throw a spanner in the works. You could be overdue or early, you could develop all sorts of conditions that would make work or commuting a real hassle or you could be fine.

I worked up to one week before my due date and then DD1 was a week late...

monkeymoma I'm afraid my embarrasing planning instinct has already taken care of most of this: Have already started buying cards/pressys for birthdays in the couple of months after birth. Paperwork is filed/sorted on a monthly basis. Am planning on doing Costco photocards for thank you cards so can't do that till little one is here. Have photo paper and ink for printer. Don't have stamps yet - good idea there. Have had a clear out inc trips to the dump (dh, not me) and ebay. Have been reading parenting/pregnancy books for months. Have prewashed all baby stuff - inc the fabric part of pram and moses basket. Carpets are (coincidentally) new, so don't require shampooing just yet. Those are all good ideas, just too organised!

QueenOfMuppets "I think the law is that if you have a day off sick for a pregnancy related reason in the final 4 weeks before the due date, your mat leave automatically starts the next day. So no need to review how you think you'll feel in 4 weeks time- if you can't cope with work at 38 weeks just need to take a day off for tiredness/backache/whatever else and the leave will start. That's what I was banking on anyway...."

Good point, I did know that about ML automatically starting if you are off sick in the last few weeks but never though I could use that to my advantage :) I'd rather give them the notice but in an emergency could always do this.

With DS I was planning to work up until my due date - made it until 39+4 and then went into early (very slow, very prolonged and, as he was back-to-back, very painful) labour. Think I would have been fine to carry on until term, but a) my job is completely desk-based and was able to work from home some days and b) I did pretty much nothing else but work, eat and sleep (and pee a lot) - DH did everything around the house.

Am planning to do the same this time around - slightly easier to arrange as I'm having an ELCS, so will plan to work right up until that, assuming everything goes ok.

Also, as far as I am aware, your Maternity Pay Period (used for determining when SMP is paid) will automatically begin on your due date, regardless of whether you have given birth or not - see here. The key bit is:

Baby born late

If your baby is born later than the week in which it was due, and after your MPP had started, your SMP is not affected. Your MPP remains the same.
and

Maternity Pay Period

Your Maternity Pay Period is determined by the date your baby is due, not by the date your baby is actually born.

What that is saying is that your maternity pay period is based on your due date, and that SMP will be paid in line with the MPP.