How late can stay at work before baby comes?

[YellowCecil]

Hi all

I am due on 18 January and so have said to my manager that I will work up until Christmas, and then leave after that which gives me the best part of 3 weeks before the baby is due.

She seemed surprised by this, as have others I've spoken to. Am I being unrealistic to think that I can work this far into my pregnancy?

It seems sensible to me to have as much of my at home time with my baby as possible.

When have others felt that they needed to leave work before birth?

Thanks!

No that is fine unless you start to feel ill and too tired. I left 6 weeks (which was what was recommended at the time), 3 weeks and 1 weeks respectively with all of mine. With experience I realised the time after the baby was born was more precious than that before.

yeah i think that's fine as long as you feel ok. depends what your job is too?

i had 6 weeks off before ds1 was born and i was bored out of my brain

I left a week before each due date, if you feel fine go as long as you want, in my case it was because paid maternity leave was so shite in those days and I wanted as much time with the baby after he was born and because I had a job where I was sitting down all day so wasn't that tiring really.

I do remember the surprise on one of my bosses faces when she asked me when the baby was due and because I was have an ELCS I said oh he'll be here this time next week.

I think you can work up to the Sunday before your due date - at least that was the case when I last looked.

I did, as I felt great, but my job is a desk job, so did not have anything physical to consider.

I actually had to leave work earlier than I meant with DS2. I was going to stay until 2 days before due date but I was too tired. A week later I met my boss in Sainsbury's car park - he asked me when this baby was coming then - I told him 'Now!' I had been sent to have a walk about by the midwives to speed things up. He disappeared PDQ!

Not to put you off but if you do work late on just be careful.

I had planed to work til 38 weeks with DD2 (born september 09) and merrily went into work after the long summer holiday and my waters broke at work at 36+1.

You might also have hols to take before you go off - so use these if you can! I was off 3 weeks before due date with DD1 - after 1 week annual leave she arrived the day my maty leave was due to start. With DD2 I was off I think about 4 weeks before sue date - she arrived 4 days before my maty leave started so I had to get maty leave dates adjusted.

If you have to start maty leave earlier due to medical reasons then you can, so I'd plan to have maty leave as close to due date as possible

If you're on your feet a lot - you may find it a struggle to work that long. Don't forget about annual leave too - you may want to use some of that as part of your maternity leave.

I left 2 weeks before DS's due date... but I'm an office worker, so not on my feet. In the end he was 9 days overdue, so I was well and truly bored by the time he arrived!

Thanks everyone. I have an office job so I can't imagine it getting too demanding, I've just heard that people sometimes get so tired before the end that they can't do it any more. At 16 weeks I've been pretty tired so dreading that!!! But weeks and weeks at home with nothing to do but clean and think about the baby will drive me mental. If others have managed to work up until a week before (or less!) then I guess I'll stick with my plans for now.

My manager has just done a 1st aid course and we were joking about what would happen if I went into labour in the office... can you imagine?! It would relieve the boredom for everyone else at least....

On my first maternity leave I used annual leave to cut down days I worked up til my due date, so I worked 4 days a week, then 3 days a week then I went on maternity leave - worked so well, made sure I had plenty of rest but kept me from being bored too. Could you at least do 4 days a week in December - that one day a week you can put your feet up or do some nice shopping in town at a slow pace.

If you are planning on finishing up at Christmas, make your maternity leave start in January, even if you have to work and extra day, so that you get paid for the Christmas holidays.

You can work right up until your delivery date though. It depends on the kind of job you have. If it's a desk job, then it is hardly strenuous.

With my first, I worked up until the due date. With my second, I took 6 weeks off before, but just so that I could have time with DS1 - nothing to do with the new baby.

I had ds3 by planned c section on a Thursday ........I finished work on the Tuesday evening- the boss did say not to rush back as my hours were going to be less but would I please be back by xxxxx date as we had a function on - it was 3 weeks later ....and I did!!

I had planned to take 2 weeks annual leave and work nearly up to my due date as my job is mostly sitting down, but pregnancy bp problems meant I had to finish much earlier so i've taken 2 weeks leftover annual leave and 4 weeks maternity leave. I am bloody bored, it must be said, but the health of this babe is more important, and it has definitely made a difference - I'm much more relaxed and hopefully so is weeble.

I finished 4 weeks before with DC1, but only cos it was the hottest summer on record, and my ankles were the size of an elephants . I used to have about 3 fans pointed at me all day long.

I finished 4 weeks before with DC2, but only cos I was knackered from looking after DC1!

I would think finishing at Xmas is a good plan.

I worked up until 37 weeks and could easily have gone up to 39. It was only after then my belly got too big to get behind the wheel of the car

I was going to use those last three weeks to chill and enjoy being a free, indpendant person for the last time. Instead I just spend it bored, lazing around, eating toast and watching homes under the hammer.

I always worked to 37 weeks. With DD1 I wasn't very well with high BP so really needed to stop but she was late so I ended up having to kill almost 5 weeks waiting for her. DD2 came almost on her due date. I had worked to 37 or 38 weeks and then took holiday which ended a few days before she was born.

Towards the end I shifted my hours so I wasn't commuting in rush hour, I took my time getting in (didn't matter by then if I was a bit late) and took work home with me rather than getting knackered. It was fine.

If there's a next time I will have an elective section and so will work up until a couple of days before, barring ill-health.

One of my colleagues worked until her waters went in the staff canteen!

I worked up until a week before my due date, in quite a physical job, I was lucky I was well enough to keep going so I did.
If you go into labour in the office you'll just get a taxi or a lift home - it takes a rather long time before labour gets at all interesting!

I worked on the day my baby born. Was fine.

I took 8 weeks off, but three were holiday before maternity pay started. Also, I worked a job which required me to be on my feet and running around like a blue arsed fly all day, so it just wasn't practical to stay much longer.
I probably could have in hindsight, but I hated it anyway and just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

It was a very boring eight weeks, and I spent so long sat around doing not much that the spot I sat on on the sofa is obviously squishier than the rest of the sofa

I know someone in the same job though who worked up until she gave birth. It just so happened that she went into labour on her day off.

with DS I left the week he was due. Spent 2 weeks at home very bored til he decided to turn up. I then had to go back to work when he was 5 1/2 months old and still exclusively bf.

With DD I was determined to stay at work as long as possile so said in my notification to work that I wanted to work until she was born. She arrived 5 days early and the only reason I wasn't at work that day was that it was the Christmas holidays. You can work for as long as you want, right up to the birth even if it is after the due date.

If we have a 3rd I'll do the same as DD. My work is not over strenuous & I'd not do anything constructive with my time at home!

I worked until 5 days before my due date! My first was 2 weeks late and I correctly guessed that my 2nd one would be overdue too (all my mums dc were overdue)

I worked until 38 weeks, looking back I could have done an extra week as DS went very overdue.

Although in contrast a friend worked until 37 weeks then had her DD at 37+1... .

I've always taken at least four weeks before, because my accrued holiday has made that the easiest thing to do (this time the holiday year-end timing means I'll probably get to finish about 8-9 weeks before... result!) but there's certainly no reason you can't work up until 37 weeks or later if your pregnancy is uncomplicated.

All my mother's DC were at least two weeks late, so I was quite startled when DS arrived two days early! DD arrived two days early as well so I'm hoping this one has had the same briefing.

Yellow,

Check your employer's policy on using annual leave. Many employers require you to use all your annual leave in the year it is accrued and if you don't use it you lose it!

So if your leave year runs from 1st Jan 2011, you need to use all your 2011 leave by 31 Dec 2011.

What I did was start mat leave on my due date and use my annual leave to take 3 weeks off before the due date.