£190 grant what is the latest your due date can be to be eligible?

[mrsflux]

I know if you are 25weeks or more by some point in jan then you get it but what due date does that work out as?

Pretty sure I'll miss it which is v frustrating as I missed it with ds too. He arrived on the day it started so if that had been his due date we would have got it!

It is a bit of a daft scheme but if people are offering me cash I'll always take it! :)

From the YouGov website:

"You may have heard that the government intends to stop paying the Health in Pregnancy Grant for women who reach the 25th week of their pregnancy on or after 1 January 2011.

If you reach the 25th week of your pregnancy before 1 January 2011 you will still be able to get the grant, as long as you meet the qualifying rules. You can read about the budget announcement by following the link below."

So looks like you have to have reached week 25 BEFORE January 2011.

Like you, I'm not sure why I'm being given money just for getting preggers, but it will come in VERY useful for essential baby stuff that otherwise would have made a hole in the pocket.

I thought it was April due date was cut off?

If you are 25 weeks before 1st Jan it would make your due date before 16th April, guess they are talking in terms of being 25 weeks as that's the earliest you can apply for it.

The reason for the grant is to give mothers to be money to help them eat well in pregnancy thus ensuring healthier babies - it's for everyone because means testing is difficult and expensive so was easier just to give it to everyone. It's a great idea in principle but actually the good nutritiion needed to prevent a low birth weight baby needs to be before conception and in the first trimester so the money comes too late.

yellowflowers I know what the idea behind it is but in practice the money is usually either put in the general baby pot, spent on a treat for the mum, or frittered away.
To improve health it needed to be food voucher type thing. Not just cash.

It is v easy for the people the grant is really targeted at to not spend it on food/ vitamins etc.

Well I think my due date is 28th April so will just miss it again. Never mind.

Apparently the government definition of 25 weeks pregnant, as translated for this grant, is 24+1 week because the first week is 0! That would women have to be 24+1 by 31st December 2010, meaning that they would need a due date of 22nd April or before to qualify. I think that is my due date! Though obviously it all depends on dating scans.

I agree that this grant has been badly managed and the government should scarp it in light of our deficit. It's still a little frustrating to find out that you may have only JUST missed it though. Grrr! They have to cut it off somewhere though!

Cala where did you get that from? You have to be bang on 25 weeks as per the medical translation to qualify.

Whatever your EDD is on your medical notes is what has to be used and signed off by the MW. HIP will outright refuse any applications even signed by the MW before you tick over to 25 weeks accordding to edd, as they have sign a statement to say you have reached the 25 week mark.

That's why loads of people I know haven't even got the forms until their 28 week appt.

Won't even give you the form here if you turn up at 24+5, they say it has to be spot on 25wks or over.

If that is the case, you will need to be 25weks before the 1st of january.

My other source was another parenting website where one of the ladies contacted a government official. You can read it here:

www.babyexpert.com/chatroom/topic/191805

So in order to qualify for the grant you must have a due date of 21st April or before.

The form says 25 weeks from edd so I'd be very wary about what this is supposedly proving until you have tried to claim it.

Mw's won't even give forms out until you are bang on 25 weeks as per your EDD, as many won't pre date as they can't really legally as they are signing a declaration.

Those that have had it early have been refused, even when it has been signed at 24+6 I was worried mine was going to be refused for this reason, as lots of women, google it have been having HIPs refused at 24+6. I thought I was one of those until I realised my appt was bang on 25 weeks so I was lucky.

Apologies emmyloulou. You obviosuly know a lot more than the government official working for the health i pregnancy grants who emailed the women on babyexpert in order to clarify their questions!

But for those April ladies, it is good to know that as long as your due date is 21st April or before you WILL qualify for the grant, despite the ambiguity regarding the accepted definition of the 25th week of pregnancy.

Email yourself if you want clarification:
[email protected]

I don't need it I have it, it's wise for you not to get peoples hopes up though and google health in pregnacy refused for being signed to early.

Take it with a pinch of salt before you claim and get a yes or no. You obviously seem to know more than the mw's/dr's who sign these forms for a living who refuse to give them out before you get to 25 weeks as they are sick of seeing them returned, eg at 24 + :)

I saw my midwife at 24 + 6, and she wouldn't give me a form. I was a bit annoyed at the time, but i totally get why she wouldn't sign it.

Fortunately, i had a consultant appointment 3 days later, and got it then.

Maternity law is a mine field- especially when giving out money!!

I'm not getting anyone's hopes up! I am only passing on information as given out BY THE DEPARTMENT WHO DEALS WITH THE GRANTS! I have emailed them myself now and got the same answer as another 3 girls on the baby-expert thread. I really queried it because I work in maternity services so fully understand the ambiguity and confusion surrounding the definition as used for this grant. I am sure that is why the MW/DR who are dealing with this forms are confused too.

As I say, email them or ring them for your self: You will be surprised by their reply, as I was.