To think the petition to extend maternity leave for three months is batshit

[frillyfucks]

I'll start by saying that I am currently on mat leave, 8 weeks post partum - baby was born two weeks before lockdown.

Maternity leave is not designed for babies to develop interactions with other children, it is meant as a time for the mother to recover from pregnancy and childbirth and to bond with their baby. I've struggled with establishing breastfeeding etc without the help of any professionals such as the health visitors checks, but I'm not a first time mum thankfully. If anything we should be pushing for more of a support network around new mums now, not an extra three months at the end so we can go to more mum and baby classes.

I do get it- I had grand plans of long lunches and baby massage to make new mum friends and I'm grieving for what is lost, but it's not unique to new mums. This is a global event which will go down in history - people have lost friends and family, weddings have been cancelled, lifetime holidays etc - it's just one of those really shit things and I think in a time when the economy is about to be hit with a real shitstorm, it's completely unrealistic to be petitioning for a further three months paid mat leave? I'll be grateful if I have a job left to go back to after this.

There’s a few threads on this already.

Yanbu. It's unfortunate to be stuck indoors with a baby but the child won't suffer through lack of groups.

I read somewhere that postnatal outcomes have improved in some ways recently--more skin to skin time, more time at home establishing feeding rather than rushing to get back to normal.

This is about the zillionth thread on this, you'll find lots of comments already!

Oh sorry I hadn't realised there were other threads - as you were! Will use the search function next time 😊