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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

When did you start your mat leave? Any recommendations?

67 replies

Cyee · 15/03/2007 12:37

Hi everyone,

I'm expecting my first baby on July 8th and I'm trying to work out when I should take my mat leave from.

I don't really want to have too much time before the birth, but have no idea whether that notion might change when I'm the size of a house! I was thinking of leaving on the 26/17th June... 12 days before d-day.

Do you have any recommendations/experiences to share?

Thanks in advance!

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Twopinkoneblue · 15/03/2007 12:43

I would say it depends on what job you do. I work in theatres and ths envolves standing for long periods of time and lifting. I only made it to 34 weeks all three times.
It's nice to have a bit of time before to prepare especially with your 1st,as you never ever get that relaxation time again.

endlesslove · 15/03/2007 12:45

Hi there. I have been thinking of the same - i am due 18th August.

I think I will be leaving the very last working day of June to give me 6 weeks before the due date.

You have to bear in mind that your baby may slightly early so do you have alot you want to sort out or relax before the birth.

I have to travel into London on the train and just don't want to do this in a heatwave in July/August!

Can you take annual leave before your maternity leave starts so you can leave earlier? I don't know if you are aware of this but by law, you are entitled to your normal benefits six months after your maternity leave starts. So you will still have this holiday.

incy · 15/03/2007 12:46

with my first child i worked full time until 40 weeks and i must say i was very tired by the end - i think in an ideal world i would have finished about 4 weeks beforehand.

i was also worried about being bored which is why i worked until so late but from my experience it is better to be a bit bored than exhausted - you can always fill your time with swimming, nct classes, yoga, etc which keeps you sane.

i found that my work colleages did not make any allowances when i was heavily pregnant - in fact i was piled with work as there was the general feeling that i was having a 6 month holiday/had chosen to work although your work may be better.

also antenatal visits will have stepped up until weekly at this late stage and if it can be a bit of a bother taking time off work it may be better to have left.

this time round i am pt but leaving at 34 weeks because of experience last time. i have a 2.5 year old so no chance of boredom in fact i would love a few days swimming and shopping !!!

do what is best for you but certainly at least a couple of weeks would be a good idea.

Original poster

Cyee · 15/03/2007 12:59

This is great - thank you!

Thanks also for the bens info - I work in HR so you're absolutely right about the holiday and indeed all other bens as well. I was hoping the law would increase OML to 39 weeks in line with SMP... guess we can't have everything!

I am lucky that I have a flexible employer, so I know that if I need to alter my dates they'll be fine with that.

Great to have your experiences to help me make my decision - thank you!

OP posts:

Mossie · 15/03/2007 13:00

Hi Cyee,

I finished four weeks before my EDD, including taking the 14 days' paid holiday that I accrue until the end of my OML, as I get six months' SMP (and six months' AML at zero pay should I choose to take it) and I wanted to have as much paid time as possible after the birth rather than before it.

However the last six weeks in work were a nightmare. I was working a 48 hour week (more like 60 hours with the train / walk either side) which my employers kindly reduced to 42 hours in my last month. And I had to really fight to take that. My colleagues just piled work on me and many of them treated me like crap as though I was going on a long holiday!

If I had had the option of leaving earlier, financially, I would have liked to leave at 32 weeks.

With your EDD being after April 1st am I right in thinking you'll get nine months' SMP rather than six months'? If that is the case and your job is stressful and you are working long hours with a long commute, I would recommend leaving at 32-34 weeks.

I am due (with my first) in just under two weeks' time now. I haven't been too bored at home on my own, as I have been able to chat with my neighbours, mil comes to drive me to the shops every now and again and to be honest, I spend much of the time asleep anyway.

If you can afford to go earlier, I would recommend you do.

HTH and congratulations of course!

charNbump · 15/03/2007 15:26

well i currently have 5 days left til maternity leave and i tell u i am REGRETTING staying this long. i will be 36 weeks when i leave. I always thought i'd be fine working til 36 weeks but combine tiredness with sciatica & various other preg-related nerve problems in legs, back ache, extreme baby rib-kicking-action etc its a different story. I also am suffering from extreme lack of concentration now too.....hence i am actually on mumsnet during work hours! ha! I think 34 weeks would have been a much more comfortable time to leave, just as it started to wear on me a bit! Saying that, you may find u are fine til 38 weeks - i salute you though! xxx

Lusciousladylush · 15/03/2007 16:04

Hi all,

It does depend on your type of job or commute. I have to struggle with the tube and train, and the tube bit completely does me in.....

I finish work next friday, at 36 weeks, but like charNbump, I have hit the wall with the lack of concentration issue, and am so tired!!! I went off at 36 weeks with my first baby, and the last 2 weeks were hell.. oh and I'm doinh the same this time round, and I feel like I haven't got the energy to do anything at all!.... and work have just realised (like all bosses do) that next week is my last week, and the work is just flying onto my desk... and what am I doing??.. I'm on Mums net!.. and i village simultaneously!

CantSlimWontSlim · 15/03/2007 16:10

I stopped work 6 days before my due date, but I was working at home at that point and could do slightly flexible hours. Remember that first babies are often late, and if you finish 6 weeks before and then go 2 weeks over, you will have used up a huge chunk of your leave before you have the baby, and will be desperately wishing for more time with it afterwards! If I'd had to go into an office I think I would have finished around 2 weeks before due date.

EllieK · 15/03/2007 16:12

i worked until a week before my due date with ds, and loved it! then this time i'm finishing 2 weeks before (only 1 week to go!) but would have left earlier i think. but then i work at a desk and only part time.

lucykate · 15/03/2007 16:15

i worked til 2 weeks before due date with both, but they were both 5 days early so didn't really get much of a rest before hand.

the commute was a 45 min drive each way and that was the point at which i was just too uncomfortable to fit behind the wheel.

nh101 · 15/03/2007 16:18

I am in same situation, tho not due till Sept. I want to work for as long as I can, so could I put down on my maternity leave form that I want to start my maternity leave on my due date? Then if it does get too much I can start earlier (ie go on sick and be forced to start it earlier). I think I have to fill this form in at 26 weeks so how am I supposed to know when I want to finish?

I have a desk job and drive door to door and I think I would rather have the routine of coming to work rather than moping around house for weeks.

This may all change when I get fat though

EllieK · 15/03/2007 16:20

i'd say starting it on your due date was pushing it
go for a week or two before, that's not too long to find things to occupy yourself

Mumpbump · 15/03/2007 16:24

I worked until two weeks before last time and was really bored after I finished. The time did drag, but I'd much rather have the time after the baby arrives than before. This time, I will probably try to work up to one week before hand, but will finish earlier if the 1.25 hour train/walk commute proves too much..

sillysausages · 15/03/2007 16:28

as late as possible you will be really gald you did when the baby comes.

I left it till 38 weeks and then ds was 2 weeks late - wished i had held out till 39

EllieK · 15/03/2007 16:29

if it's your first i'd say def go for 39 weeks.

Lusciousladylush · 15/03/2007 16:31

Remember babies come early as well as late. ....
my colleague left at 38 weeks last friday, and had the baby on the sunday...

bit too close for comfort for me - I'd like some time to prepare mentally for the new one!

EllieK · 15/03/2007 16:33

i had a mat leave temp job recently, baby was 7 weeks early so i guess whatever you decide the bby may have other ideas

funnypeculiar · 15/03/2007 16:44

With ds I finished the day I gave birth (went into labour early ... rang them from the labour ward to talk them through stuff that needed doing!) With dd I stopped about 4 weeks before, but more becuase I'm now SE and didn't want to leave clients in the lurch by giving birth in the middle of their work - needless to say she was late!
I am of the belief that I'd rather spend my paid time with my baby than my stomach ... but then I have a reasonably sedentary job with a good commute...

Original poster

Cyee · 15/03/2007 20:26

This is all fantastic - thank you all!

NH101 - there are some rules about the latest you can start your mat leave. I should know this off by heart (I work in HR!) but can't think. Basically I think it's the week you are due.

I agree it's hard to make these decisions now... it all seems so far away. Is your employer quite flexible? Or are they likely to hold you to your original plan?

It's all starting to feel quite real now..argh!

OP posts:

LunarSea · 15/03/2007 21:39

I worked to 38 weeks with the first one - but had a 2 and a half hour a day commute, and paid mat leave was only 18 weeks then so I didn't want to waste too mush of it by starting it early.

This time I'm working right up to 40 weeks - but I largely work from home now, and the last couple of those are on reduced hours anyway.

It depends a lot on what you do, what your journey to/from work is like and how long you're planning to take off. If you're not due until July you'll get 9 months paid, I'll still only get 6 months as miss the 1st April cut off date by a week.

MuminBrum · 15/03/2007 21:43

I worked until the last day I was allowed - it was 16 days before my due date - I would have gone mad if I'd been at home for any longer than that before the birth.

BigHotMama · 15/03/2007 21:48

I managed to make it to 37 weeks, then my ds was 2 bloody weeks late so it felt like a life time and I had to stay in doors as it was sooo hot and I could hardly walk..was horrid those last few weeks!! My head was the to the size of a pumpkin!

llareggub · 15/03/2007 21:57

I saved my annual leave and used it to finish work at 34 weeks. I was really glad that I did because by then I was the size of a house and had SPD. Walking was incredibly difficult by then so I was glad of the rest.

DS came 3 weeks early and conveniently on the day that my annual leave ended and my maternity leave began. How is that for efficiency?

bumperlicious · 16/03/2007 07:58

It is difficult to have to make that decision so early. Hopefully your work will be a bit flexible. I haven't got that far yet, but I'm due 18th June, and like most people wanted to leave as late as possible, but I have found as time goes on I'm just sooo ready to leave. V uncomfortable walking, and sleeping terribly (and that's just at 26 weeks!), so instead of leaving on 1st June as I intended, I am now using all my AL to go on 11th May, 5 weeks before d-day. I thought I would be bored, but I can't wait to just be able to sit around and read books for a few weeks (hopefully in the garden) while I still have that luxury. Plus, I want to be as relaxed as possible when the baby comes, which will hopefully give us a better start than if I am burnt out!
If you give a late date for leaving then are just finding it too tough, I would hope that you work would let you go early.

OrmIrian · 16/03/2007 08:13

First time - 34 weeks 'cos that's what was recommended. Far too early and not enough time afterwards.
Second time - 37 weeks. About right.
Third time - 38.5 weeks 'cos work was manic - was going to leave it longer but got too tired and he arrived on the day I was originally planning to stop. Very very tired but loads of time afterwards.

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