Maternity leave - when to start

[Katmunky]

Hi all, I'm expecting my first baby in early May (6th). I am unsure when to plan to take leave - I will be taking a year. I know I want enough time for myself before the arrival but also don't want to be sat around waiting! I am aware the first one can often be late too - any advice would be appreciated.

I went off at 36 weeks end of March, same as you time to myself etc and get sorted he arrived at 38+3 weeks. We didn't get to the due date.

Depends what your situation is. If you work is it an office roll or more hands on? I felt incredibly bored and I went off at 37 weeks. I’m a nurse in a heavy ward so couldn’t have managed longer! My one was born on due date.

also depends how your pregnancy has gone! I had no sickness and no complications and had a great pregnancy so I managed a long time! Most other people in my line of work go off 33/34 weeks x

I worked until the Friday before my due date/induction date for both my pregnancies, one being a multiple birth. I would have gone crazy with boredom if I'd left any earlier. It made money last longer when we actually needed and I got 13 full months with my babies before returning.

I have an office job and with my first baby i had a similar thread on MN. Everyone told me to go as late as possible as first babies are often late etc. So i planned to go on AL at 38w and ML at 39w. You can guess what happened next...!!! Baby arrived at 38w so no leave before she arrived and it all felt like such a rush between finishing work on the Friday and going into labour on the Saturday.

Currently pregnant with number 2 and going to go at 36w. Yes if this one is late, it means potentially 6 extra weeks, but i wouldn't want to repeat the lack of a bit of downtime before this baby's arrival.

I went off at 35 weeks with my first, but she was a pandemic baby and I’d accrued so much annual leave that it just made sense. Was slightly dull as it was the summer of 2020 but did have some lovely weather and felt very prepared once baby arrived. I was somewhat burnt out at that point so glad to have had the time to fix that before baby’s arrival. She arrived at 40+3.

Second time I went off at 36 weeks, mostly to spend some quality time with DD before new baby arrived. I had a planned C section this time around so I knew I wasn’t going to go longer than 39+2.

In both cases I used annual leave to get me from finishing work to the due date (or CS date in DC2’s case) and then started ML officially on the due dates (on the basis that if babies arrived sooner then that AL would just get tacked on at the end, so it would all work out equally anyway)

I went off at 36 weeks last time and it was too soon. I had to go back earlier than I wanted to and in hindsight wish I'd had the extra weeks. Having said that, sitting in a desk chair all day was really uncomfortable and I was absolutely exhausted so I would have struggled to carry on working much longer. This time I'll take a couple of weeks holiday and start maternity leave officially on my due date to maximise the time on the other end.

Our plan was to go to 37 weeks but I developed gestational diabetes meaning I would be induced before 40 weeks. She arrived at 38+5 and I'd gone off at 36. It felt a nice amount of time to prepare and rest a little before. I would have stir crazy with any longer though. It was also mid heatwave in an unventilated classroom which meant my inpatience about being big, tired and hot probably also played a part...

Completely depends on your individual situation (financially, your health and your job role) and how your pregnancy is going.

If you have a work from home job or office based role with minimal physical activity then you could try and work as long as possible.

If you have pregnancy complications, sickness, pelvic pain, etc etc then you might not be able to physically do your job after a certain point or become too. stressed/exhausted by it.

Also it depends if your returning to work afterwards or not. Some people don’t plan to return and can afford to take an earlier maternity leave to prepare for baby.

I went at 36weeks I took 2 weeks holiday followed by starting May leave two weeks before due date. However I only got a weeks holiday because dd arrived 3 weeks early!

Really depends on your job role I think @Katmunky 😊 I work 12/13h shifts in a physical job and am on my feet all day, public facing and was pregnant in 2020 during the pandemic. I used annual leave from 36 weeks then started Mat Leave at 38 weeks.
By 36 weeks I was ready to go off as I was really struggling being on my feet that length of time and wearing full PPE. We also wanted to minimise the chance of me catching covid close to my due date because of all the hospital restrictions.

I think if I’d been in a less physically demanding job then I’d have stayed until 38 weeks.

I took 2 weeks before my due date but baby had to come out early so had to give 2 days notice to work suddenly. Depends a lot on what kind of work you do and how your pregnancy is going as mine was easy and I could have easily worked close to due date if it wasn't for the unexpected situation that occurred.

I should add - DS arrived on his due date.

I'm going off 38+2 and am currently 35+5 so not long left.
I feel like I'll be fine making it through to then but am really looking forward to hopefully having a bit of a rest before he arrives as am shattered.
I'm going to try and get everything sorted before my leave to just take some time to fully relax before the baby arrives.

Going off a week before due date - I think I'd go stir crazy not working and having a distraction 😊

As above depends how your pregnancy is going & how much time you want to enjoy without baby as it gets super hectic once it is here.

With first I was going to stay freelancing & working part time until around 37 weeks but had to finish earlier due to reduce movement & the anxiety that came with it. Was induced at 37 + 6 instead of 21st March he came 8th March.

This pregnancy i am still aiming to freelance until as late as possible but signing off from part time job earliest as poss which is 11 weeks before due date. Want to make the most of my time before number 2 arrives as it’ll be even more hectic with life and already having one 😂

There is no wrong or right just whatever suits your situation before and after baby!

good luck!

I finished at 38 weeks, went into labour 4.5 days later (after a lot of quite active painting and DIY).

I do wish I'd had a bit more time to relax, but equally had friends who finished at 38 weeks and went 2 weeks overdue/were totally fed up.

On balance I think 38 weeks was the right call. I was very uncomfortable and tired in the final days of work, don't think I'd have made it much longer.

Thank you all SO much, really interesting mix! I guess I will see how I progress after the new year and make a call then. I definitely want some downtime - but I live in the country so not much going on except the local pub, which isn't as attractive when you can't enjoy a drink. Maybe by that point, I'll be sipping a large red 😂

I went at 30 weeks and loved every minute.

This is very early but I spent the first 7 months of my pregnancy in lockdown so when everything reopened I wanted to really enjoy leaving the house and being out and about for the last time without a baby.

Depends on your job and how you've been feeling. I'm working til very close to due date, as feeling well and WFH. Would rather save the time for after.

I planned mat leave 2 weeks before my due date but ended up having ds early so ended up being 4 days after mat leave started.

I'd work as long as possible so you get as much time with baby as possible before going back to work!

Stopped work at 37 weeks, used 2wks accrued leave to have mat leave start at 39 weeks - baby arrived at 39 weeks. When does your annual leave start? I refrained from using any in the last few months so I could finish early.

If I had my time again I'd definitely still finish with weeks spare. Those were my last few weeks of freedom and I'm glad to look back knowing I made the most of being leisurely given what came next. I'm due next summer with my 2nd, and mat leave dates will be dictated in part by timing it around my other child's school start the following year. Make the most of what freedom you can this time!

I had insomnia and carpal tunnel and had to finish earlier than I had planned as I couldn't use my hands or stay awake so, erm - not a very useful employee!

First baby was two weeks late and second was a week late, I'd work as long as you can comfortably but not longer. Sitting around waiting for baby and fending off 'any news' type messages is annoying. I did a lot of furious jigsaws :)

I planned for a week off before the baby, but they arrived the day I started my leave. This worked out to be perfect as wasn’t really sure what I would do for a week, and got to spend maximum time with my baby.

Depends on your job and your pregnancy.

I'm due dc4 later this week and don't start leave till my due date. I've been using up holiday for the last few weeks so have been off for a few week, just not officially. I'm a carer so my job can be quite physically demanding but this has luckily been a pretty easy pregnancy.

I took annual leave from 36 weeks, and my maternity started at 37 weeks. Honestly really bored at the moment (I am 37+5) but also glad to have some time off before the arrival