Maternity..

[shann00]

I currently work as a Carer in the community so my job is physically demanding with long hours.. I was planning on going off on maternity at around 35 weeks😬 is this too early?
Anybody work the same job and have suggestions or when they went off?

Sorry about the bot, OP. The heat's got to him!

I went on mat leave at 36 weeks with first and my job was entirely desk bound so I wouldn't say it's too early, but depends how fit you feel nearer the time really. Presumably your employer has done assessments and you aren't doing any heavy lifting etc? Assuming they've put in place workarounds for anything that might be a problem, there's no reason why you shouldn't work as long as you like. It is nice to have a few weeks before the baby arrives to rest and get stuff done at home, but you have to balance that with time off with your baby at the end of mat leave.

Bumping this for anyone passing in similar jobs.

My friend went at 38 weeks OP, care work is bloody challenging, mentally, physically and emotionally. However, she was based in a care home rather than being out in the community. Her manager was very hands on with her risk assessments, and by about 28 weeks she was moved to 'desk' based duties, working on care plans and helping the activities coordinators and archiving.

It's really tricky to say OP. I went at 34 weeks, and I was bored shitless (DS didn't arrive till I was 42 weeks).

Have you had a chat with your line manager to discuss potential alternative duties, of what others have done in your position with regards to going on leave?

@HebeMumsnet I was worried about being bored to lol , don't want to look lazy either.. thank you for replying.

@Otterses that's good to hear! I do feel quite tired at time with the hours and don't heavy lift as such but just the physical side of things have me quite drained .. I haven't spoke much about it to others but will look more into it with the work place , I'm worried I won't be able to work up to the time I say 😬