No maternity leave

[mossyrose]

Is there anyone else out there who wasn't able to have a maternity leave? How did you find it physically and emotionally going straight back to work?

Lack of funds meant I had to go back after 12 weeks but I was in my 20s both times .

I wouldn't plan on a baby with no mat leave . You have no idea how you'll feel, be coping, if your baby will be a good sleeper or a fussy feeder etc . Work in some time off just to recover and relax as a family is my advice .

I went back after 2 weeks because there's no maternity leave where I lived, but I was a buildings manager and worked from home and it was 20 hours a week flexible. My dc could stay with me. It was tough as cleaning was part of the job but I coped, you do what you need to to a certain extent. I had easy births though

I got maternity allowance from the government because I hadn’t been in my job long enough, I think it ended up being just over £700 a month with my child benefit too for 9 months. It’s the same scheme for self employed people so you could expect to get around that too potentially.

Two weeks is ridiculous. Especially if you have a complicated delivery requiring any kind of surgery or stitches (csection, tearing etc). You're not even recommended to drive until 6 weeks after a csection.

I wouldn't even consider it in your circumstances. And I only took six months off with each child.

I was self employed before both my kids were born, you may be able to get Maternity Allowance - which is pretty much the same as Statutory Maternity pay (I think).

It’s an appalling thing to do to a newborn. The 4th trimester is important. Contemplating this shows a complete disregard for the childs attachment and emotional development.
If you can’t be bothered to change your life to accommodate a reasonable maternity leave you have no business having a child.
Get a goldfish instead.

My DD is almost 4 months and I don't feel ready to leave her yet.

I’ve gone back to work after 2 weeks with my first, and one week with my second. I am self employed and can take my baby to work with me though.

Physically I found it easier than I anticipated. My body suffered terribly with pregnancy, my post partum body by comparison was a breath of fresh air. I was lucky to have fairly straightforward vaginal births though.

My bigger concern would be what happens with 2 week old baby whilst you’re working. X

@Megan2018

It’s an appalling thing to do to a newborn. The 4th trimester is important. Contemplating this shows a complete disregard for the childs attachment and emotional development. If you can’t be bothered to change your life to accommodate a reasonable maternity leave you have no business having a child. Get a goldfish instead.

That’s an awful comment, and completely disregards the fact that some women have absolutely no choice in when they go back to work- I didn’t. It was keep a roof over our head or have a maternity leave. My partner is also self employed in my business, but is unable to work without me so if I hadn’t gone back to work we really would have been screwed.

Have we made sacrifices as a family? Of course. Does that mean my family is better off not existing? I think not. There are lots of ways people make it work without compromising their child’s development. I didn’t see OP suggest anywhere she was planning to pack her 2 week old off to nursery for 50 hours a week.

I think you have to be able to accept retuning to work within weeks (or months in the father's case) may have to be put aside as you don't know what baby you will get, what needs they will have, and how you will feel after the birth. Also the type of job you do is very significant! I couldn't have driven after two weeks so would have struggled to work. I wouldn't have been able to successfully breastfeed, which was important to me. I've had two non-sleepers so would probably have killed someone had I been able to drive in.
However if work is something you can knock out in three hours a day in your home office, crack on. Hard to say without knowing the job.

I was self employed when I had my first DC. My DP took the standard two weeks paternity leave.

I had two weeks off after birth and then started on emails, etc. from home around the baby's nap times. I had a big baby who slept and fed well so this was helpful.

I fitted in a couple of days a week this way until the baby was 4 months old. They attended nursery two days a week so i was doing the equivalent of a 4 day week from this point onwards. We were in a strict routine and I could depend on them to sleep at certain times so I could arrange calls.

When the baby was 8 weeks old I had a client project that fell on specific days (no flex at all). I got a babysitter in to mind the baby while I worked for three days (this was before the baby started nursery). I still breastfed the baby but could feel comfortable the baby was cared for. Any probs and I was in the same house anyway.

Are there any ideas from my approach that could work for you?

I think you have to allow that you might need longer simply for your own recovery. You cannot go back to an active job ie moving and walking at 2 weeks pp in most cases without risking your recovery. At 4 weeks pp I went on holiday and dh booked a cab not leaving enough time to get through the airport so we were rushing. I needed the whole next day to rest for my stitches/tear to recover from the rushing through an airport, I could feel the impact.

In theory only two weeks may be doable for some but labour is so unpredictable. You may have a longer healing time for so many reasons and may not be able to go back to work after only two weeks. I personally wouldn't advise it (1/2 months off at least!) but I'd say see how you get on