How many days holiday to save to be a birth partner?

[tranquilitybasehotel]

Hi
Bit of a how long is a piece of string question really but here goes...
My best friend is due her first baby in March and it's looking increasingly likely that I will need to be her birth partner. The problem is I only have 1.5 days annual leave left to use before our new year begins in April.
Do you think this is enough? I have an afternoon booked off in February which I could potentially cancel but even so I feel like 2 days may not be enough!
So do you think I need to cancel the afternoon I have booked off in February?

Depends how it goes. Labour can last a few hours or a couple of days. And if she has a c-section she’ll be in hospital for at least a couple of days and will need at least 2 weeks of support at home.

Yes a long labour is what I'm worried about I would feel bad having to leave her to go back to work! Support at home is ok as she is moving back in with her dad, but doesn't want him as her birth partner.

Is there any chance your work will let you use some of next year's holiday, as it will only be a few weeks before the year begins?

Will your work place allow you to take leave at a drop of a hat? You could have an issue with timings.

You book tine off then labour doesnt start for 2 weeks or comes earlier than planned. What then?

Can her dad share the load with you for the less intense bits of early labour? (I’m assuming she understandably just doesn’t want her dad seeing intimate examinations and her in distress etc).

In early labour, and even if she’s admitted for an induction, there’s not a lot happening. Her dad could keep her company for early labour and then you can step in when things really get going.

I was in hospital for about a week with both my previous labours. (Most of it labouring).

Work are ok with me leaving at the drop of a hat (would be the same for paternity leave) but I definitely can't use any of next years holidays, and also can't try and build lots of TOIL over the next few months as all TOIL has to be used by the end of feb, and any accrued in March must be used in March (will try my best in March to build some).
I might speak to her about her dad being there at first, I had mentioned that if things were progressing slowly I may go back into work for a bit!
I think I will try and cancel my afternoon booked off in feb anyway!
And keep my fingers crossed that she labours over a weekend or goes 2 weeks overdue as that's takes her up to 31st March, although not sure she would like that .

Can you take any unpaid leave?

LittleMissNaice HR were a bit sketchy about unpaid leave and said it wasn't something they would normally allow but may agree to it at the time, so not very helpful for now!