Under FMLA (the U.S. federal law guaranteeing you 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave if you qualify), you can take your maternity leave at any time during your pregnancy or up to 1 year after the birth of your child. Yep, this means it’s a personal decision!
Of course, some of us work for companies where maternity leave or short-term disability starts after the birth of a child. In these cases, you may not have a choice unless your employer’s policy provides flexibility.
If you do have a choice about when to start maternity leave, what should you do? What do most women do?
While we don’t know of any definitive statistics about this topic, from what we’ve gathered, most women take a look at their estimated due date (that guesstimate from your doctor about when you’ll go into labor) and make a decision from there.
Unless you have pregnancy complications that require bed rest or your doctor tells you to take time off, many women we know decide to work up until their actual due date. Some women even go beyond their due date and continue going to work so long as they haven’t gone into labor. Others prefer to decompress from work and have a last week or two at home, getting physically and mentally ready for baby’s arrival.
Factors such as finances, whether this is your first child, whether you have a physically intense job, how you feel, whether you’re having twins, and of course, your personality, matter as well!
Since there’s no right answer about when to start your maternity leave, here are some personal anecdotes alongside the pros and cons of the 3 choices you have:
On her water breaking at work: Luckily, I kept pads and a change of clothes in the car. My water didn't break in a huge gush though, so it was just on me, it didn't spill onto the floor or anything like that. I ended up getting an employee to go to my car to get my pads and clothes for me while I hung out in the bathroom. After I was cleaned up a bit, I drove myself to the hospital. I hadn't had any contractions though, so they sent me home.
I worked until day of delivery with all three of my pregnancies. It would certainly depend on what kind of work you do, but as a banker I was glad to work to help pass the time. And, I was motivated to have all my time off available after my baby was born.
"My last day at work was my due date. I went into labor the next day and didn't go in. I didn't want to lose a single day with my baby!"
My company sends people on maternity leave before their due date by policy. If you are looking for negotiating points for maternity leave, it’s beneficial to your company for you to have a set leave date (versus whenever you go into labor). This forces a transition plan for your work, ensuring you aren't emailing colleagues from the delivery room. It also avoids you going into labor at the office. (Of course this all assumes you don't go into labor extremely early).
“I am a hairstylist so I am on my feet all day (part-time) but at 26 weeks and having scoliosis it's starting to tire me out after about 4 hours of work. So I am taking off at 29 weeks and going to play it by ear when or if i decide to go back. It seems like most people take off about 1-4 weeks before their due date but if you're feeling good then by all means keep going!”
“I had 5 weeks off before DD and it was bliss! I wasn't bored at all! It'll be the last free time you'll get for about 18 years, so make the most of it. Sleep whenever you feel like it (it was lovely to sleep in a pattern which suited me rather than be constrained by work), read the newspaper, read books, etc.”
"I thought I picked a good time to start mine... OH! How wrong I was. Here I am, bored and waiting for this little one to arrive, I feel like I could have been at work all this week!"
My baby surprised me by arriving 15 days early. I actually went into labor in a client meeting! I still had a full schedule of meetings and was not finished wrapping up important projects. Just know that you may go early and you should prepare for it — either by starting leave early, working from home or just being ready to go when the time comes.
-Romy, co-founder of Fairygodboss