To ask who signed the extension of mat leave and why?

[Tjsmumma]

Self explanatory really..

If you signed it why? Why do you feel you and entitled to more time paid? Do you think being in lockdown is more of a right to more time of PAID than people who have babies who are delivered early or need NICU stays?

I am myself on maternity with a 19 week old and i still do not think its fair to say 'i need more time off paid because i wasnt able to go to a mother and baby group' theres plenty of time to go after.

I can sort of understand if you are due to go back and cant find child care but surely you can be furloughed or claim SSP/Benefits during this time like the rest of the country?

@PippaPegg I never said it was because of my employer.
I've had to return to work (although furloughed) because of the outbreak.
DH has been furloughed as so we can no longer afford for me to take my unpaid 3 months.
It sucks.

But people are dying. So I'm pretty great full for my lot right now.

So glad to find this thread. I'm on mat leave and my various mum groups are all sharing this on WhatsApp. It makes me cringe. The petition itself is so poorly written, badly argued and with spelling mistakes!
I have great sympathy for those with childcare issues but once things reopen many of these will likely be resolved.
My maternity leave has been intense and I'll never have so much family time again. It's been great and I'm not feeling keen to get back to work. But - I'd rather see the economy get back on its feet. Nothing is free. The money we benefit from now will be paid back in taxes by us and indeed our little ones, for decades to come.

So glad I'm not alone in thinking the petition is a pile of pish.

@T0rt0ise i am a FTM myself i know its daunting and isolating at times but at least we have sime support. Some of us do, i nay be skint and not able to do my usual things and yes at times its overwhelming but it could be a LOT worse!

I have a 9 month old and I think it’s ridiculous.

@T0rt0ise well there's a global pandemic so unfortunately there needs to be some
Sucking up applied. And getting more paid maternity leave is not going to solve any of problems people are moaning about.

I signed it, and not because I feel "entitled"... far from it. I signed it because due to Covid 19 I am unable to do my Keep in touch days which means I've lost about £900. I also signed it because I've made tens of thousands of pounds for the company I work for in the 7 years I've worked there. I signed it because for the last 20 years I have worked, paid taxes and NI.
There are companies like star bucks, amazon and Facebook who have avoided paying millions upon millions in taxes but yeah sure why not have a pop at the people signing this petition.

None of your reasons explain why you should be entitled to more Mat leave than Jane Doe?

@Tjsmumma it could always be worse but I don't think it's fair (and this isn't aimed at your OP) to say that people on maternity leave currently have it good compared to 'normal' times. I get an extra 20 minutes help in the morning and evening because my husband isn't commuting. For that I lose all face to face contact with medical professionals and support staff, the support of my parents, the ability to look at nurseries and the ability to do things with my child other than walk around the estate and stay in my house.

(Again, not saying I agree with the petition, just wanting to get a few facts straight about what it's like to be a new mum right now)

I think for a lot of mothers it’s about the time rather than the money. It doesn’t impact me as I’m self employed.

And how are they not getting the time now?

I'm with @MumofBees on this one. I'm expecting to be flamed for this but I signed it because my DD was 4 months when lockdown started and I had just started to feel like a confident mother. I had been taking her to groups (which were completely for her benefit thanks, I didn't go to socialise and didn't make friends) and she loved them!

I actually feel like I'm bonding with my DD less as I feel like I'm not enough for her. I struggle to keep her entertained all day and she's so bored of our house. Each day, we try to come up with new ideas and often they aren't successful.

I was also going to be using Grandparents for childcare but this can not longer happen.

I would just feel a lot happier if I could have some extra time to get a sense of normality back, find childcare without pressure and have some fun.

@Fedhimtotigers please read my post again. I haven't said any where awe should be getting paid more (if you read it I actually said I don't agree with the petition). However, I do want to make it clear that being on maternity leave, certainly for me and the other new mothers I know, right now sucks so people saying 'we have it good' need to realise that we really don't.

What I don't understand is how having 3 extra months is going to make the issues with being on maternity leave during the pandemic better. It isn't going to bring back the time lost with family, it's not going to bring back the missed appointments and groups, so it seems like what those in favour of it are really after is some sort of compensation for things not being how they'd planned. Which is pretty much how everyone is living their lives now!

Also, how would this work in practice? How much of your maternity leave would you have to have 'missed' to qualify? Maybe the entirety is understandable, under 6 months IMO less so. I say this as someone who is currently pregnant and having a horrible time with risk of pre term labour and attending all my quite scary appointments alone. I think what really rankles with this is that I'll be in the premature baby camp and don't imagine my experience of the early months will be roses at all. But I don't expect anyone to compensate me for that- it is what it is.

Oh thank goodness I've finally found some people who don't support this! People keep sending it to me to sign.

I'm off with my 19 week old. I can't see any justification for this at all. At all. I would maybe support additional unpaid leave but I'm not sure, I just don't see the argument for it, and I wouldn't take it myself.

Personally, I'm glad that I happened to be on mat leave when this happened. Means we haven't had to juggle both of us working from home whilst also looking after the kids (and actually my department kept working in the office for far longer than was sensible) or make difficult decisions about sending them to nursery (I'm a key worker). I was able to withdraw my DD from nursery no trouble when social distancing guidance came in, didn't have to have any discussions over whether to keep using grandparents for childcare. And there's the added perk that I now get to have an hours sleep every morning when my DH would usually be commuting

Just before lockdown I'd booked DS in for a few classes. It took me until about 6 months to pluck up the courage to go to any with my daughter, so I was pleased with myself getting out there so much earlier. But alas! ''Twas not to be. It's a shame but never mind, at the end of the day I'm here looking after my kids and that's what it's all about (and actually I've ended up being able to do more classes, albeit via zoom, because I can do them on days when DD is around now).

@oiwiththepoodlesalready83 So what makes you think you'll get more from them? Im confused by your comment. Signing a petition for free money for sitting at home with your baby which we have already done and are doing is absolutely ridiculous. Its a time to bond and recover from birth which we have done. You'll just oush our taxes up next year even more.

Can I add on reflection maybe it is quite a selfish petition but I would like as much positive time with my child as possible, and at the moment she's getting an anxious, scared mummy. It was a knee jerk reaction signing and if it happens then that's great

Some of us (like me) can afford unpaid but many on low salaries may need it paid.

We’ve been fighting for years to get additional leave for parents who have babies in NNICU and who can spend the vast majority of their mat leave beside an incubator. They are already on average £2,500 worse off due to a preemie birth, and struggle to find appropriate childcare.

Did you (or any of the others crying about the Covid issue) sign any of the petitions or engage with the campaign for that?

@T0rt0ise I did read your post. And my reply is that those people need to suck it up a bit. It's not fluffy and rosy. Oh well. Now is the time for people to take personal responsibility.

@Fedhimtotigers I should have expanded on that. I’m currently in early labour.

It’s the time to recover, the time to seek support where needed for various things (medical issues, breastfeeding, PND). Not all of these will be relevant further down the line, but some will and others will have a knock on further down the line. For example I am prone to anxiety and depression. My husband has continued to work throughout this whole thing.. Meanwhile I have been avoiding going anywhere unnecessary since the beginning of March as advice for pregnant women appeared and on lockdown since whenever lockdown started. I’ve also been taking care of two small children, while suffering some other pregnancy complications. I can see that all of this, coupled with the isolation pair-birth is going to negatively impact my mental health. There will, for others, be a knock on effect receiving support as services become more stretched.

It is what it is and as I said it doesn’t make any difference to me as I’m self employed (not entitled to any employment support as I started trading last year) but I can understand that for many it’s difficult.

Most people who I know who are pregnant now have been isolating since March and i know many have found these last weeks of pregnancy really tough without being able to seek help beyond their partners.

@Fedhimtotigers that's what those of us that can are doing. But how does telling people that we have it better help?

My twins were born at 28 weeks. They are my 3rd and 4th children and have recently turned 1.

I returned to work in March - I'd planned to use up holiday I'd accrued before returning and should actually be just starting back next week. I went back early as my business and colleagues needed me. It was the right thing to do, I've probably saved a couple of jobs by going back sooner (I'm a senior manager in a professional field) and have certainly supported my colleagues at a very challenging time.

For context My twins spent 9 weeks in hospital. I hadn't even packed a hospital bag or bought a pram when they were born. I was still working. My maternity leave started the day they were born.

We went through hell in the nicu - it stays with you. I'm obsessive about cleanliness and hand cleaning ( I had plenty of hand gel when the crisis hits as I have it on me constantly and at every sink in my house) and my boys have never sat in a high chair in a restaurant, been to soft play or attended any sort of baby class.

Even before corona the worlds germs were too big for my babies. I have never felt "deprived" of those activities. I stayed in my bubble with my babies to keep them safe, I didn't let people who'd been in contact with anyone with so much as a cold come and visit and for the first month we were home I checked the immediate family who were allowed to visits temperature at the door - because I know what a genuinely sick child looks like. I know how it feels to watch your child struggle to breathe, to be intubated, oscillated, Subject to xrays on a portable machine multiple times a day as they are too sick to be moved.

This petition made my blood boil. I was deprived not of mother and baby groups but of a birth that didn't nearly kill me and of being able to hold my children when they were born. I am grateful as hell to the nhs. They literally saved my life and the lives of my two children. Moaning about not having a "proper" maternity leave is entitled bullshit. Speak to any preemie mama - she'll soon set you straight - we didn't get the maternity leave of our dreams - we got something better we got to take our children home. That's what matters. That you and your children are safe and well. Stay at home, count your blessings.

@oiwiththepoodlesalready83 haha you've said 'im not entitled' followed by a list of things which make you think that you should be entitled to it. Brilliant, unless it was done unintentionally in which case, doh.

@Sleepyquest so the rest of its life isnt positive or just your extra 3months paid? What about people dying of covid, alone? Awau from families bet theu also wanted 'extra positive time' with their loved ones.

@MintyMabel i actually did! But you are right bet hardly anyone cared then!

My mat leave would have been about 10 times easier now than it actually was as my husband's at home and could give me a break now and then He was out 7-7 before.

www.personneltoday.com/hr/government-to-announce-extra-paid-leave-for-parents-of-premature-babies/ this was a petition worth signing, hopefully it comes to fruition.