15wks pregnant worried about maternity leave

[Niki93]

Hi there.

Im 15 weeks pregnant with my first pregnancy. Im 26 years old and work full time in a fairly emotionally draining and stressfull job. Me and my boyfriend sat down to discuss how il use maternity leave and we both decided it would be great for me to take 9 months off. This would consist of the first 5 months on full pay (my employers policy states this for my length of service) the last 4 months on SMP. We’ve already saved up alot together to make sure we have enough financial stability to tie us over those last few months on SMP which is fairly low income. I wanted to take 9 months to make the most of bonding with the baby etc. However, certain friends and family have made comments suggesting we’re being unrealistic by wanting that much time off work and that we wont be able to afford it as we need to pay our mortgage etc. We’re fairly sensible with money, always have been. Am i being unrealistic wanting that much time off? What are other peoples experience of maternity leave? What is the average amount of leave to take for most women in the uk?

@Niki93 I'm taking 12 months. 6 months paid, 3 months SMP and 3 months unpaid. My husband and I have a mortgage too but have been saving and will continue to save to allow me to essentially have the same monthly 'income' when I'm on SMP and unpaid. If you have the money and are both happy for you to use it to cover you then absolutely go for it! You don't get that time back 😊

Congratulations on your pregnancy. Everyone I know has taken 12 months off. Don’t forget you can continue to save in the months that you are fully paid. I am the only new mother I know that hasn’t returned to work after my maternity leave (I do plan to after I have had a year with my next child).

I took 9 months as a single parent on one income (6 full pay, 3 SMP). I saved approximately £3k to tide me over until I went back to work and it was absolutely fine (I would have still had about £1k when I went back to work if it hadn't been for nursery fees). It'll depend on how high your outgoings are, but if you work out how much SMP you'll get per month and then the difference between that and your salary then roughly the difference (x number of months) is how much you need to save.

Remember you accrue annual leave while on mat leave too, so if the numbers don't work out you can usually bolt on some annual leave to the end of your mat leave (which will be fully paid).

Ignore other people and do what you want to do. I think 9-12 months is most common. I can’t think of a single person who took fewer than 9 months off. Of course if you absolutely financially cannot take that much time off then you can go back much earlier, but it sounds like you have it all figured out.

It really depends on your personal circumstances. I fell pregnant with my number 2 when my oldest was just 4 months old so had no time to save between maternity leaves. I've since gone on to have number 3, give up my fulltime teaching career as childcare is too expensive, and work 20 hours in retail in the evenings weekend. We manage. You just learn to budget and prioritize your money.

Sounds like you're being extremely sensible about finances and you have a great maternity pay. Ignore what people are saying!

I don’t know anyone who has taken less than 1 year.

Sounds perfectly sensible especially if you’re saving loads now.

I took off 12m with DD.

I didn't go back after mat leave. What would your family think of me! Honestly you just make it work.

You and your partner have done the numbers, your friends and families are probably thinking about how thry save. Don't let them dictate what you do.

Keep making the savings now altho of course you'll need to spend on baby stuff too, and keep saving whilst you're on full pay altho you'll spend on baby too.

Enjoy your time x

I’m a childminder, so see new mums coming towards the end of their maternity and the majority have babies who will be around 8/9 months when they go back to work. I’ve had babies start at 5 months and a friend has just started with a 4 month old, but I’d say the norm is nearer to 9 months. If you can afford to take 9 months off, then do. Also think about how best to use your annual leave. Some mums add it to the end of their mat leave to give them an extra month. Some negotiate more of a phased return and do a 3 or 4 day week for a few weeks to ease them and their baby back in to the new routine a bit more gently.
I know some mums who have had their pay averaged out over the 9 months, so the full pay has been split over the 9 months so they don’t have the low pay pay of just SMP at the end. I’m not sure how common that is though, maybe ask if it’s an option?

Have you looked to see if you'll be entitled to Tax Credits, it may help a bit. As does child benefit.

Your outgoings will be less whilst not working too possibly. You will be fine and even if money is very tight, and you're on baked beans, it'll be worth it to be with your first born ❤️

I took 9 months, including the time before as didn't work up to due date. No way I could have taken a year off as needed some income to pay the mortgage. I know plenty of people who couldn't take a year off financially and others who have. You also don't need to decide before the birth, see how you feel after the 5 months.

What works best for your family? SMP isn’t high - the only reason why I can afford to take 12 months off is because I have savings and other income and because my employer will guarantee my role. If they couldn’t do any of those things then 6 months would be all I could take

If you have done the maths then you will be fine.

I am at the end of mine sadly but managed to take the full year ... it worked out 14 months with holiday and bank holiday days owed too ... I managed to save a bit of money whilst on mat leave and full pay too because I wasn’t travelling to work .

I confess I am prob about £300 -£400 down financially and will have to slowly claw that money back but all in all not too bad and I can juggle it so I don’t pay any interest on the money owed

We too have a mortgage ..

Recommend considering buying baby clothes / plastic toys second hand to save a small fortune in the early days ( Facebook for sale and nearly new sales in your local area )

I have sterilised toys and washed clothes before use but can save a fortune ... as I think in the first 6 months our son went through 5 different sizes.

And try to budget for formula if you already haven’t just encase breast feeding goes wrong

I don't know anyone that's taken less than 12 months, me included.

I took 11 months- 6 months paid, 4 unpaid, holidays (paid). That was 2 years ago, and I'm pregnant again and plan on doing the same.
To be honest, I really didn't spend much at all after the obvious 'big spends' like pram, cot, carseat etc. On a day to day basis, I just didn't really spend much so it wad completely fine

I took the full year. We lived as if we were on a lesser income on the run up so it then made it easy to adjust.

My mat pay runs out next week I've been off for 9 months, only 6 weeks of that with full pay and gradually reduced down to SMP. I go back to work in 4 weeks, my DD will be 9 months old (just).

You will manage, everyone manages!

I took 14 months! Although I get 30 days annual leave a year + bank holidays, so about 1.5 months of that was annual leave on full pay. Much like you, we did an awful lot of saving and we had our bills covered for the 6 months on low/no income .. I get 6 months full pay, 3 months statutory & 3 months of nothing! It was a bit tight but not awfully so thanks to the savings!

You are really not being unrealistic at all - my employer has 12 months maternity leave as standard in our contracts & you have to amend it if you want less!

Ignore your relatives, it’s your maternity & your life. Do what you want!