Maternity leave - when and how long?

[MeadowMouse]

I need to let work know I'm pregnant, but have no idea how long before my due date I should plan to go on leave. When did you start yours, and how long did you take off over all?

For context, my partner works full time, and we have no family living less than 5 hours away.

For my first went on leave 4 weeks before due date. At that time, we were only entitled to 6m leave and although going back was hard, I'd say for work, that was about right, although I made it a couple of weeks longer with accrued annual leave.

With DS2, I worked until the day before he was born (3 weeks early) The entitlement had increased to a year and it was lovely to spend the time with both DC, but going back was much harder. So much had changed in a year it was like starting a brand new job.

I don’t think you can decide this early. With dd1 I finished work at 37w. She was born at 40+6 and I was bored! Ds1 I finished 3 days before elcs, and will do the same this time knowing I can wfh if needed.

Im currently pregnant with my first and optimistically said i will leave with 2 weeks to spare.

Im 33 weeks and leaving work on friday, using the last of my annual leave until 17th of october.

I'll be 4 weeks early of my due date, but it was definitely needed.

I was thinking i was going to feel absolutely fine, but ive found im not doing too great, i have a lot of pain and pressure that i cant get shut of.

So its best for me to take early leave than put my body through strain.

Its very early to be thinking about how you will feel 30+ weeks.

My family and his family live in the same city. Around 20 mins in the car if we needed them, but im aware all of both families work. Although we will have the help and support i also know i cant ask all the time.

Im also planning on taking a year off. We put money in savings as soon as we got past the 12 week mark so we could make sure i could have the year. We're still planning the year.

Get yourself to a certain point that you'll know what you want to do, dont struggle, dont over do it if you cant do it. But right now it seems too early to tell!

Depends on your job role, hours, commute, how your pregnancy is going and time of year.

I was due in August and left at 36 weeks pregnant with both of mine. Had to commute into London and back again it was too much in the heat and I was really swollen. However I went 10 days over and was pretty bored. If I could have worked from home I would or worked longer.

I left work with my first at 32 weeks but not by choice, had the minimum 2 weeks after the birth so it resulted in very little time with the actual baby. Stopped on the day they were born with the others, which was better as I started working again at 5 weeks which was better for my physical recovery and nicer to have longer with the babies after they were born. In an ideal world have been able to have a couple of weeks before the birth and then maybe 12 weeks after to spend with them, but we couldn’t afford it so it was shorter, and it was okay. Congrats!

I found sitting at a desk working easier than doing housework at home so worked until 36 weeks. I didn’t tell work until I started showing.

I guess it all depends what type of job you do - i worked in an office so stopped working at 38 weeks, but i was just sat at a desk so it was easy.

I worked until just over 38 weeks and then have taken nearly 13 months off with carried over leave.

I felt mainly totally fine in my pregnancy (was swimming the day before my c section) and work was desk based so I could do it easily.

I worked past my due date with my first, planning to start leave on my due date this time, but I have a desk job and easy pregnancies.

Pregnancy 1 my last day was 38+5 due to weekend, mat leave to start at 39 weeks baby arrived at 38+6 and I wished I had a few days at home before she arrived but health wise there was no reason I couldn't have kept working
Pregnancy 2 my last day was 8+3 weeks as I was made redundant. I developed complications in pregnancy at 32 weeks and my 35 week I was bed bound and had two hospital admission and at 36+6 they decided I needed to be induced for my health, baby arrived at 37+1. Had I still been working I would have had to stop some time around 33-34 weeks.

As for how long with my daughter I planned on going back at 9 months but I developed severe depression and instead of going back to work I went into a mother and baby unit. I took 12 months maternity leave and followed by a 1 month sick note followed by a 2 months fit note where I did a phased return.

This time around I'm planning on starting to look for new employment between 6 and 9 months but i will have to see how I go

Think I planned to work until my due date, but ended up starting mat leave 2 weeks before due date cos I was just so exhausted. I had easy desk job as well but my pregnancy was hard. I never went back.

My maternity leaves all began on my due date with a week ir two annual leave before hand. But: my pregnancies were straightforward and I had a sitting down job.

I took seven months off with each of mine, and DH took 3-4 months after that with whatever version of shared leave was in place at the time.

I worked until my due date with both of mine

Very much depends on how you feel and how physical your job is. I started my official Mat leave at 38/39 weeks both times but took annual leave before that to extend it, so off from around 36 weeks with both. Desk based job but physically in the office then as pre Covid and had bad PGP so struggling at the end.
Also with DD1 I took leave one day a week for the last month so I could have a 4 day week- already part time with DD2

Worked to 38wks with both, I had 2 c sections at 39 weeks so didn’t have long to wait.
took a year off with baby 1 and currently 3m in to my 2nd year long mat leave.

I’m currently 31+1 and planning on going on AL for 2 weeks at 33+3 so my mat leave will start at 36 weeks. I’m already miserable and have to commute through central London to work, so I’m glad I’m leaving early!

I worked until about 2 weeks before my due date each time. DC1 was late and DC2 was early so I never had exactly 2 weeks. I have a desk job and I can work from home so it wasn’t an issue when heavily pregnant, the same way as a job being on your feet might be.