Determining when you plan on taking maternity leave can be an overwhelming process since you don’t know the exact date of your baby’s arrival. However, it is very important that you find out what your rights and benefits are early in your pregnancy. The best place to find out your maternity rights are is to refer to your companies employee handbook, to determine if they have a policy for maternity leave. If there isn’t a policy in the employee handbook it is important that you talk to human resources as soon as possible. Don’t wait to long to talk to them because there is paperwork that often requires your doctors signature and it can take some time to gather the documents. Once you have the proper documents filled out, you need to return them to the human resources department as soon as possible so that they can process the documents.
Disclosure: This post is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact your company’s human resources department. The opinions reflected in this post are my own and based upon my own experience with maternity leave.
12 comments
I agree, maternity leaves should be carefully planned so that moms can make the most out of their time with the new baby/babies. 🙂
Yes, I agree. I remember my maternity leave went by pretty quickly so it is important for mom’s to enjoy the extra time off with their newborn, they are only tiny once.
Wow Christy,this is a great article! I had to share it on google. So many women learn the hard way because they didn’t plan ahead.
Many Blessings!
Thank you for sharing my post on Google Taylor, I really appreciate it.
This is super helpful information for pregnant, working moms! I wish in the USA we had longer maternity leave. In some countries, I understand, women take off a full year after the birth of a child. I think it’s important.
I agree, you are very lucky if you get paid time off these days.
As usual, these are great tips! I know I saw my doctor ALL THE TIME. Then I started getting really tired and asked my doctor to write me a note. She refused and 2 days later, I had to get a c-section. Weird, but I also say to trust your instincts. Your doctor can write you an early maternity leave note and have your benefits start early as well.
Yes, you are correct if your health is in jeopardy your doctor can put you on bedrest and your employer has to honor the request per FMLA.
I agree that keeping notes are important. Our HR manager who was very understanding and approved my doctor request for an early maternity leave left the company. Management tried to “encourage” me – pressure me really to stay longer. I had a doctors note and they could not force me to stay. I felt the pressure and disdain but followed doctors orders for my health & the health of my baby.
Wow, I can’t believe they tried to pressure you and make you feel guilty for taking your maternity leave.
Really helpful tips on being prepared ahead of time. You do have to know to be able to plan right.
[…] good news is that most expecting parents usually have employers that give their employees paid maternity leave so that you don’t have to worry about stretching your budget further while you are enjoying […]