Would I have any chance of getting PIP while pregnant?

[99Samblaze]

Hi everyone, I’m just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve heard that it can be difficult to be awarded PIP while pregnant because some people see pregnancy related difficulties as temporary, but I’m struggling quite badly with anxiety and depression and have been referred to the prenatal mental health team.
On top of that, I’m suffering from severe pelvic pain, to the point where I have to lie down after sitting for around 10 minutes.

Mentally, I feel completely exhausted and overwhelmed, and even the simplest everyday tasks take me forever to get done. My husband does most of the cooking before he goes to work because I struggle to manage everything myself. I’m also worried about how PIP would view my situation, as I’ll soon have a newborn as well as a toddler to look after. Would they hold that against me and assume I’m coping because I have children to care for, even though I’m genuinely struggling both physically and mentally? I’m not expecting anything I’m not entitled to, but I was wondering whether I might have a chance of being awarded the standard rate of PIP?

I heard also on FB forums that it’s extremely difficult to get PIP, has anyone got it after going birth?

Thanks

You wouldn't be eligible if the conditions are linked to pregnancy because the expected duration wouldn't be long enough.

You would need to show that the conditions were expected to last beyond the pregnancy, and I doubt any medical professional would be able to predict that.

You'll need to see how you are once you have had your baby and your hormones and body have settled down.

Whatever the outcome, I hope you feel better once the baby has arrived.

I don't mind hearing how it really is, just tired of hearing rubbish like this.

It’s because they look at minute aspects like putting on socks which are easily fulfilled by being too ‘anxious’ to do it, but not so ill that although you’re in morphine and have a scan showing you’re terminally ill but still able to put on socks.

It’s a joke.

To be fair though, that poster was advised by the main cancer charities that she wouldn’t qualify, so she’s acted on their advice.

That's what I think too.

And that thought is solidified by this comment: "I mean the standard rate isn’t even that much so I don’t understand why they’re being snobby."

Hmm, well if it's not that much then why do you need it?! PIP is not a top up fund for people who haven't adequately financially prepared for their second pregnancy in as many years... also it's not 'snobby' to have criteria.

It’s nothing like that actually. Simple anxiety and depression are not stand alone PIP awards - the conditions mainly attract awards as an addition to other conditions, or are part of severe and enduring mental health conditions requiring consultant led mental health input. And as has been said multiple times, that poster was advised by cancer charities that she wouldn’t be eligible for PIP, so she’s acted on that advice and hasn’t yet applied. Stage 4 cancer doesn’t necessarily mean you would satisfy PIP eligibility and certainly not automatically unless the consultant was prepared to make a terminal diagnosis within PIP timescales.

My friend has been profoundly deaf since birth and got it recently, had to appeal as in the first instance they barely gave her anything, she then got more on appeal.

I am afraid my deep level of inconfidence in others would not allow me to be so trusting.

"Bloke sez" has never really been how I live my life.

Now this is really taking the piss!

Did you mean ' deaf'? 😂

Oops just edited it 😂😂

I was a disability outreach worker and to be honest l wouldn’t advise anyone to fill out the form without researching online, and preferably with professional support from CAB or similar support agencies. If there are waiting times to access this help the claimant can ask DWP for an extension on the time limit for returning the form. It’s only on MN that l’ve ever come across the opinion that PIP is easy to get. In my experience it’s the polar opposite - even with severe disability
And this is exactly why people who really shouldn't get it manage to do and vice versa, because it's no longer about the disability itself but how skilled one is in knowing exactly what to state on the form to tick the right boxes.

You shouldn't need an expert in how to write a form to get the right points to get an entitlement but that's exactly what it has become. And then people try to argue that it's not possible to get pip unless you are genuinely severely affected by a disability!

I'm curious as you say you have savings, couldn't you use that in this instance?

Unclaimed benefits dwarf any fraud in the system.

Sorry - another fact. I'll report myself.

PIP has fuck all to do with savings.

Clearly absolute nonsense.

OP has £50k in savings
No diagnosis
Is pregnant
and accusations of the assessors being ‘snobby’

Bullshit.

Aye.

You haven’t been diagnosed and you aren’t receiving any treatment for it? That should be your first port of call not asking for a handout.

You absolutely can. I have stage 4, just been awarded it. It took 5 months start to finish and I've been awarded it on first go. Speak with Macmillan, Maggie's or Citizen advice and get them to fill out the form, appeal or whatever you need to do for it.

I’ve been filling in the forms since PIP was introduced, and for DLA before that, and it really isn’t. The forms are the clients’ own account of how their disability affects them. What matters is whether the assessor agrees with them and how strong their supporting evidence is. So it’s the assessment report that dictates the decision, not the application form.

And as a professional disability support worker l’ve also seen the statistical breakdown of conditions giving rise to claims, and l know how to interpret them. DWP issue the statistics based on the main disabling condition as described by the claimant on the application form. That may or may not be accurate or supported by medical evidence or the assessors’ report. It’s just a straightforward presentation of why claimants claim, and it’s based on one condition when the claimant may have several -all of which may score more points than that described as the main disability.

For example someone may consider their anxiety and depression as their main disabling condition but they may also have a physical condition or a more severe MH condition of which anxiety and depression are only a part. So the statistics may give the impression of a stand alone award for anxiety and depression, but in reality without the other disabling conditions scoring additional points, the application would fail.

It is a cruel quirk of the system that if you don't apply, you definitely don't get.

🤣

For example someone may consider their anxiety and depression as their main disabling condition but they may also have a physical condition or a more severe MH condition of which anxiety and depression are only a part.

Degenerative chronic conditions have an oddly negative effect on anxiety and depression.

how would taxpayers money help in this situation OP?

Absolutely. Also saying you won't get it without even trying is ridiculous. It does my goat in when people who are in a similar position won't apply. It's there to help you with the costs of your disability. The side effects of treatment make you eligible very easily.

Please don’t make sweeping statements like this. Stage 4 can mean many things and won’t necessarily qualify somone for a PIP award. I agree that the advice from the main cancer charities isn’t the best and l would definitely advocate for OP to make a claim, but you have to bear in mind that for PIP it’s not the condition that qualifies you, it’s how that condition affects you across the range of assessed activities.