Anyone else self-employed / run own business, pregnant and wondering how maternity leave will work?

[NGiaretta]

Hi, I'm 38 weeks pregnant and run my own small coaching and consulting business. People keep telling me I must have a clean break and let go of work completely for a few months. But increasingly I'm thinking that the odd hour here or there (if I feel up to it) might help me feel more relaxed and reassured about things.

Anyone else in the same situation / been there before?

If you do the odd hour here and there then you will lose your maternity allowance, so not worth it IMO. I gave up completely (was a finance systems consultant) when I had dd.

Technically you can not do any paid work while receiveing MA. I did attend a training session while on MA but wasn't being paid for doing so.
Keeping up with customers however IS ok, but not invoiceing them for your time. So a lunch with a customer - they pay for lunch, is fine AFAIK . Also the boring stuff of running a business like banking cheques, paying bills and keping your accounts you can do. ditto reading trade papers and books & keeping up with new developments in the field.

Take the break, you do need to focus on your new role for a while untill your well into it. I'm amazed how many eduacted, seemingly sensible, women have spent less time reserching & preparing for their new role as Mum than they would for a new business role. Then start complaining that they are tired, their perfectly normal 1 week old baby never sleeps more than 2 hours & wants to feed round the clock, cries loudly and they didn't expect it be like this.

Hi, I am self employed and took seven months leave when my daughter was born. I didn't do any work at all for the first three months (couldn't have strung a professional sentance together even if I wanted to!)

After that I spent a couple of hours a week reading the odd article, and doing small things to stay in touch with clients - quick phone call here, odd email there, forwarding on an article that sort of thing. None of it paid and not work as such but just staying in touch with contacts.

I was expecting to worry about work when I was on leave but actually found I wasn't that bothered - too exhausted to start off, then too fascinated with my baby. In the end I re-structured my work to work very very part time, really just enough to not slip off the radar altogether. This wasn't what I thought I would do when I was pregnant - I suppose what I am saying is, give yourself time to see what happens!