Is it crazy to plan to start maternity leave the week I am due?

[Pinetreeland]

Hi,

My job is office based with no physical activities involved. I am planning to start my maternity leave the week when I am due so I can spend more time with my baby instead. But consider that most people seems to take a few weeks off before due date, I am wondering whether I am being a bit 'brave' and underestimating the physical strain of having to commute to work with a big belly and not being able to rest as much as I would like.

My due date is early next year so I won't have accumulated much holidays neither to take before the birth.

Anyone has experience starting maternity leave just before expect date?

Many thanks!

it's not crazy to plan this but be prepared to reconsider later in your pg if you are exhausted - you won;t do yourself or the baby any favours if you are knackered before it even arrives.

Remember you accrue holiday even while on matleave so you can always use some of those to extend your matleave at the end rather than the beginning, iyswim.

I started my mat leave at 39 weeks last time. I had a very easy pregnancy and felt really fit and well. However, going from full time work to having a newborn just 7 days later was quite a shock to the system. In hindsight, I wish I'd taken a little longer to wind down and get used to a new, slower pace of life.

This time I'm going at 37 weeks.

hi there,

well I didn't start maternity leave the week I was due - I finished at week 37 so had 2 whole weeks off before my duet date. I can tell you that I was absolutely knackered by week 37 and found both driving and sitting at my desk uncomfortable. I was also fed up mentally- I suppose you get to the point where you're ready to take a break and focus on your baby.

It is very personal however and hard to decide - especially when you have to let your employer know in advance and you don't know how you'll be feeling. Just bear in mind you will feel tired, big and uncomfortable by then! Your body might need some rest and relaxation before the big physical effort of childbirth!

I'm also due in Jan next year, think I'll be taking a few weeks of beforehand- not too much as, like you, I want to make the most of time with the baby afterwards.

good luck!

Not crazy, but probably not the best way to look after yourself.

It is well worth taking a bit of time to wind down, get used to being at home, rest and feel as physically fit as possible before the baby arrives. The first few weeks with a baby are truly exhausting and you want to be feeling otherwise fit. If you are commuting, you are likely to feel pretty knackered and uncomfortable by that stage - not a great way to start.

I'm the same, plan on leaving at 38wks (I'm in a office job as well) I'm 33wks tomorrow and I've found it fine so far, just need to relx on evenings and weekends

I am due on 3rd November and will be taking my maternity leave from 1st November. My job is also office based, basically sitting on my desk 9 to 5, not much pressure or stress. If I can I will take one week of annual leave beforehand though.
I am 31 weeks now and had a very easy pregnancy so far, however from about this week starting to feel somehow knackered, but not to the point where I can't work.
I think there is a law which says if you are absent from work within 4 weeks before the due date due to pregnancy reasons, your maternity leave starts from then. That leaves me a chance to start maternity leave earlier if I feel too knackered.

I started my maternity leave with DC1 5 weeks before due date, and DC1 was 2 weeks late. The only thing I remember was eating lots of muffins and gaining weight, which I don't want to happen again, so I'd rather go to work!

I took 6 weeks before DS (3 were accrued holiday) and 5 this time (now 39 weeks). It is lovely having some breathing space and time to yourself, par tic before DC1, as you'll not get that time to yourself ever again! I've spent the time cooking nice lunches, washing baby clothes, occasional pampering, daytime trips to cinema, afternoon naps etc. It was so lovely first time round that I knew I had to do similar this time. Plus I was relaxed and ready for the baby, rather than it feeling frantically close.

Bear in mind that you accrue holiday while on mat leave, so you can always tack holiday into back of mat leave to give yourself the extra time with the baby then even if you haven't accrued it beforehand.

With my 1st baby i was a postie & had been put on light duties, so i went onto nights & sorted letters all night.

What i did was keep my annual leave & used that before my due date. So i had my annual leave for 4 weeks from 36wks & then maternity leave kicked in at 40wks. My baby was overdue & came 15 days after his due date.
I've just re-read your post & noticed that you won't have enough annual leave for that, i really should read posts properly.

Personally i felt great even up until i was induced, not that tired or anything. However i'm on baby #6 & only 22wks & i'm knackered lol.

Also think about your commute. Is it long & does the bus/tube/train get packed? I used to walk the mile home after work as i found people would elbow & bump into my bump without caring.

See how it goes. If all is fine and you are finding it ok then why not. Work may be able to accomodate you coming in and leaving either side of rush hour or working from home sometimes which also makes things easier.
Assuming you are well there is no reason why you shouldn't do this, but you need to be realistic about whether you are well. With my first pg I was insistent all was fine even as my bp hit 160/115 and I was hospitalised. Not very smart.

And I reckon lots of women have a good instinct about when labour will start. I knew with DD1 she would be well over a week late, just as I knew with DD2 that my parents going away the weekend after my due date would be a very bad idea!

Good point from Meg about accruing holidays while on leave. I'd accrued very few last time but took a week as hols before starting mat leave as I knew I would be on mat leave for at least a week's worth of holidays.

I agree with those who have said 'see how it goes'. I'd have a chat to your employer, say that you intend to work up to 39 weeks, but request a 'catch-up' closer to the time to confirm.

I worked until 36 weeks with my first child and that was all I could manage. The commute absolutely killed me by that stage. I had much more energy in my second pregnancy and was bounding around quite happily, but ended up having my baby at 37+5. You never know how things will work out, so keep an open mind!

Second everything on here, totally keep an open mind and make sure your employers know you want to be flexible, just in case you hit ''the wall''.

agree that is depends on your pregnancy, but think then physically and mentally you may want a break before then.

i'm currently 36 weeks and completely exhausted, because im studying i can't start maternity leave until im 38 weeks and really wish i could start sooner. physically can't cope waddling around with my giant feet and also just concentrated on baby and really don't have any interested in studying.

My baby is due 2nd November and I am planning on working until 38 weeks. I work 9-3pm around the other DCs school hours. I have had an easy pregnancy, but I do know that despite this, you get really tired and fed up towards the end. DS came at 37 weeks and DD at 39 weeks, so this one will probably be early too. I am therefore reserving the right to change my mind! I did that both times before too - thought I could handle working up to the end as my job was office based, but even that can get tiresome. And when you have other DCs to look after too, it can all get a bit much towards the end when you find it difficult to get enough sleep at night, then have to function properly early in the morning to get everyone ready for work and school, then do a day in the office......

I don't have any holiday left as I have taken it to look after DCs during their school holidays throughout the year, but I will tack on any accrued holiday on the end of my leave so that I can take as long as possible after baby is born

Toja555 "I think there is a law which says if you are absent from work within 4 weeks before the due date due to pregnancy reasons, your maternity leave starts from then."

I am pretty sure the way it is written is that if you take medical leave for mat reasons in the last 4 weeks, your employer can ask you to (make you) start mat leave. This is so that if pregnant people are taking 1 or 2 days sick leave a week or only managing to get in for half days or whatever, the employer can say 'look you really should be calling this mat leave'.

I don't think you have to start mat leave, and if you have an understanding employer they might not be bothered, or might consider that the shorter time you are in is still worth it.

D

I started my leave at 34 weeks (1 weeks holiday left, physical job as a community therapist AND very paranoid about swine flu!!). But then went into labour at 37 weeks so I am soooooooooooo pleased I left when I did. I had three lovely weeks to sort out my house (kind of!), have a bit of a rest and, most important of all for me, have a bit of "me" time. I knew I would never really have me time again. I had lots of stuff planned to take me up to week 40 and beyond (and it all still needs doing....).
Personally I'd do the same next time. With leave tacked onto the end you can still get lots of time with your baby. I do know people who've worked right till the bitter end, but it wasn't for me. Good luck!!

I have worked until the day before I've given birth both times, but then both my DDs have arrived early! Bear in mind you could deliver early, and then it leaves you with a mess of work stuff to clear up in the same week you have a new baby.

Hi, I'm in the same situation as the OP as I'm also planning to take only one week's ML. But my situation is a bit more complicated as I'm on a fixed-term contract that ends more or less on my due date. So not only will I not accrue annual leave during my ML (fortunately, I'm entitled to SMP!), I also won't be able to tack any unused leave onto the end of my ML. Every week of ML I take before the end of my contract is a week's lost pay! So I was planning to save one or two weeks of leave to take before my due date and start my official ML as late as possible. (Obviously there's a risk that the baby will come early, so I have to start my ML then and lose my annual leave as well!) This is my first child but I'm very fit and well (23 wks at the mo) and have a walk-train-walk commute with the possibility of working part-time at home further into the pg. So am I mad to be considering this?

I started my mat leave v early but just wanted to hightlight that I had my (first) baby a week early - so if I had been working til 39 weeks I would have gone into labour at work! I was prepared for being early anyway as my mother was 2 weeks early with me and 3 with my brother. Just something to consider, but equally you could be two weeks late so it's a tough one!

What's your commute like? Even if you think it'll be manageable when you're big and knackered, would it be an issue if you went into labour at work? Personally I'd like to stay near home from 37 weeks (ie. full-term) so I don't end up having to go to a strange hospital instead of our planned birth simply because I'm too far from home when labour starts.

Also, do consider the weather then. When we had bad snow a few years back there was lots in the news about pregnant women being stuck on freezing train platforms, etc and I have to say I did think "well why the hell are you commuting if you're that pregnant and the advice is don't travel unless you need to???" .

Would working from home be an option?

My job too is office based but i finished work at 35 weeks (used 3 weeks holiday first) I really started to struggle, it was the getting up in the mornings and not being able to nap during the day that was killing me!
I think the closer you get you may change your mind so I would just hold out until you make a formal agreement with your work.

Hi Japhrimel,

I work in the same town as the hospital I'm planning to give birth in (and it might even be the one you live in, unless I've got confused ), so it would actually be more convenient if I went into labour at work than at home! My commute involves a 15 minute train journey, and a shortish (1 mile) walk at each end, so not too bad. And we don't have a car, so that's my only option anyway. I'm sure working from home would be fine if the weather were really bad, as a lot of my work is research/writing-based.

good point about being prepared in case you start labour at work (you won't necessarily get any warning)

it is nice to leave it late so your baby will be a bit older when your paid period of mat leave finishes (even including hols).

but those last few weeks may be tough - very tiring, uncomfortable and crap.

I actually think it's a good idea if you're feeling well. Otherwise you may just drive yourself crazy waiting and as it is highly likely your baby will be late, you'll probably have some time to rest and 'nest'.

I was frantically busy before DD2 was born (had to move into our house the weekend prior and had DD1 to look after) and found it fine lifting, carrying and unpacking things and didn't have time to dwell on every little niggle. I wasn't tired during my labour and actually think it kept me fitter and more able to cope with the birth and post-birth demands than my relax and easy yoga/walk regime prior to DD1's birth.