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?

If you feel up to it, then go for it, but try & have a back up plan so you can leave earlier if you need to.

I worked until the day I gave birth (nipped out in my lunchbreak for an antenatal appt, was in theatre for a c-section 2 hrs later!) and went back to work 4 weeks after that, and that was fine. But then again, I had loads of energy in my last few weeks of pregnancy and couldn't stop running around doing stuff, I would have been bored rigid at home. Everyone is different though - my best friend gave up work at 33 weeks as she just felt too huge and tired to carry on.
Best of luck with it all!

I had to finish at 38 weeks (the law in Ireland) and with hindsight would have fudged my due date by at least another week. At work I've a good mix of sitting down/moving around etc. And 3 years ago it was raging hot during May/first 4 days of June so I kept threatening to go back into work to sit in the corner and get the benefit of the air conditioning (clean room so temp controlled etc) - the heat at home/out and about was awful.

I only had preg related problems (water retention in fingers/feet) once I stopped work: sitting on my arse and eating 4 magnums a day was the main result of compulsory pre-delivery mat leave. Being off for the 2 weeks + 2 days pre delivery didn't suit me, but that's me. Good luck with whatever you decide.

How much notice do you have to give a company if you aren't returning to work?

Is it frowned upon to pretend you are returning then not doing to get SMP?

How long do you have to work somewhere to be entitled to SMP? Or do you get it just for being pregnant whether you're employed or not?

I don't know the legal stuff as I am childfree!

Cockwomble

I don't know how much notice you have to give your company if you aren't intending to return to work. I suppose technically it will be your standard notice period before your expected return to work date? So if you start ML in January and plan on returning to work in Jan the following year then you would have to give your one months notice (or whatever) in December? None of that applies to me as I told my boss and HR straight up that I'm not coming back when I told them I was pregnant at 12 weeks.

"Is it frowned upon to pretend you are returning then not doing to get SMP?" Well you are entitled to SMP regardless or whether you return, so there would be no point/need to pretend.

You need to be "employed by the same employer continuously for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week your baby is due (the qualifying week)" in practice this means that if you are working there the week before your last period (3 weeks before you technically conceive) then you are entitled. If you are not entitled to SMP for whatever reason you can get Maternity Allowance, which I know nothing about really as it doesn't apply to me... Hope that helps...

Awesome thanks

Yanbu if you like your job and don't feel too stressed/tired. You may want to be open minded to finishing sooner though, the last few weeks can be pretty tiring...

You will need some time off to have a bit of rest and relaxation as you won't be having any of that for many many years to come

Also, don't be intimidated by people sharing their stories as if you should be some kind of superwoman brokering world peace at 40 weeks. If you want to stop working before then stop - it's your body and your baby. I remember sitting in a meeting with senior managers, all older women, who kept trying to one-up one another with how long they hung on at work before they had their babies. It started to get so ridiculous that I said, 'Let me just say that I will be going on maternity leave four weeks before my due date and I won't work a day later than that'. I just didn't want to get drawn in to their silly game-playing.

Last laugh on me though, going into labour on the way to work at 35 weeks! (But at least I top trumped all their boasting!)

I used my annual leave to cut my hours down to three or four days a week for a few weeks, then went on maternity leave at 38 weeks. dd1 was born a day later and I felt a little disappointed that my carefully planned slobbing about for two weeks plan didn't work.
Best laid plans etc... Good luck

I wouldn't if I were you. Take two weeks before to rest and relax maybe pamper yourself because I found all that goes out of the window when you 're up all hours with a newborn.

I worked up to 38 weeks, in hindsight i could have gone another week I reckon (just!) with the puffy ankles/backache etc! As it happened DS was two weeks late, and I only got two and a half weeks with him til I went back! It depends on how you feel and how generous your employers are with mat pay/flexibility.

In an ideal world, i would have finished at 35 weeks ish. It was very tiring towards the end and I would have liked more time with DS..but...we need the £.....

Hope all goes well! xx

Emmacate - My first pg was one of the great ones, whizzing about till my waters went happy as larry. Secretly wondering what all the fuss was about when the older ladies were saying 'slow down, take some time you'll need it'. As if, I thought. House is ready, I'm brimming with vitality, bring it on.

If it's any consolation it still makes me cringe to think of it!

It came back to bite me real hard later on. I worked late and returned early for some, just returned early for the others. In my case it wasn't because I have the fanjo of iron or am some die hard 'pregnancy rest is just malingering' type I just had to. Very much harder with the smallies at home. Now though I have the luxury of relishing time with my babies because I work from home now so it all worked out.
I would definitely suggest taking more time for number 2 on though because although I didn't miss my time at home before number 1 and don't regret what I chose I do see that it is a time toddlers care squat about! And some one on one time is wonderful before a new baby.

Older mum here. No 2 baby at 41. Fudged my due date and told work due date was 1 week later. Stopped on the Tuesday real due date which was end of the month and baby didn't turn up for another 9 days! so work thought it was 2 days late rather than 9. Did this for the same reasons as you, min mat pay and wanted to max time with baby before returning. If u body ok with it then I say go for it!

Hi, OP here. Hope I'm not breaking some kind of MN etiquette but just wanted give you all an update

So today I am 39 + 2 and I'm typing this... from work! (I know, what kind of employee am I but really I'm the organised kind of employee who has left herself little to do in the last week...)

I'm due to finish work on Friday at 39 + 6, work all think I'm only 38 weeks (except for The Boss and HR who know the truth from MatB1).

I've been fine and even if I give birth tomorrow (you never know!) I still won't regret keeping working - I'd recommend to anyone who thinks it would suit them to consider it. I did however take the MN thoughts on board, specifically I used my annual leave to have regular time off: I haven't worked a full week since June and this week I'm off on Tuesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon, just to rest. Also, bearing in mind that you never know and baby might just be early I've been completely ready to leave since about 34 weeks or a little before. I wrote what was effectively a handover document and kept a list of my desk of outstanding projects with enough details for colleagues to cover. Oh and when I had an exhausted "wobble" around 31 weeks I didn't worry too much because I knew from the MN replies that it probably wouldn't last...

So that's it really, just an update - baby is due on Saturday , so very excited but bracing myself for it being 12 days after that before we finally meet...

I planned on working right up until my due date - waters broke in the car park at 37+6 and had baby 4 hours later.
I work at a law firm overseas so didn't have the horrendous commute to deal with and whilst physically I felt absolutely fine, from about 36 weeks my mental ability started to wane dramatically. I wanted to have the baby so I didn't have to think about anything else!

Good luck OP - come back and let us know when LO does show up! I'm working until 38 weeks with this one which is baby no 2, DD arrived at 40 + 13 so hopefully I've left myself enough time - I finished at 37 weeks last time and was bored waiting for 5 weeks for her to make an appearance! However I am hot and tired and have a long commute which is quite uncomfortable.

I had an easy pregnancy. I was due at the end of January, finished at New Year.
All I will say is that you may regret not having a couple of weeks' peace and quiet, free of responsibility. It's the last opportunity you'll ever get

Thanks MakeTea and good luck to you! I've been lucky to have an "easy" pregnancy (It hasn't actually felt easy to me, but I know from talking to others that it has been)...

OhDearNigel you might be right, only time will tell. However I really doubt it, the extra time in work has been quite peaceful plus I worked out that in a week I take home enough to cover our mortgage for a month! (Lucky to have low mortgage) that kept me going through a few "do I want to do this" blips :-) Also I may still have a "couple of weeks" peace and quiet - baby doesn't seem to be going anywhere...

another thing that i found was that by about 30 weeks I had absolutely no attention at all for work and just sat at my desk daydreaming most of the day and wishing I was at home !

OP this is the good time at work, sitting around playing on internet/ mumsnet etc!

PoohBear It's true. That's because I've finished off / cleared up absolutely everything and have no outstanding work. My replacement doesn't start till 1st October due to slow recruiting so my boss is happy for me just to be physically present, even if doing very little, so that anything that comes in can be dealt with - and it is in triple-quick-time, I've even had comments :-)

I'm
Due today. And I'm working.

1st one I left a little earlier but my commute was pretty long so I just took my holiday until the time I had dd, no 2 I finished working 11 days pre birth and didn't have enough time to take any holiday, I was meant to have 3 weeks of doing jack all as it was sunny but ds had other ideas.......if you are someone who would get bored navel gazing and you have no stress or responsibilites then why not? Although I hope you have used all your holiday up if you aren't going back!