Thoughts on maternity leave?

BumpJackie

Only 12% of people in the U.S. work somewhere that offers paid maternity leave, which means that many men and women have to take a pay cut right when their costs of living are about to increase exponentially. We're looking to hear stories from you on your personal experiences with maternity leave. Did you have a positive (or negative) experience? How did you approach your maternity leave with your employer? How did it impact you financially? If you're willing to share your story, please reach out to mbach@xogrp.com ASAP. Thanks!

deanaorsino

My employer allowed me to take a leave of absence for 12 weeks. I was paid 8 weeks of short term disability which was 50% of my salary because I had a C-Section. The other 4 weeks I had to use my own PTO. But, at least I never without a paycheck while I was off. If I wouldn't have had enough PTO I would have had to take the time off without pay. 

RedDawnsRevenge

I am a ED RN. I took 7 weeks total off with DD1 completely unpaid, so even though I had an emergency c/s I went back to work when DD1 was only a month old. With DD2 I actually stopped working. She is now 6 months old and I have recently gone back to work doing flu and health clinics as I wait to start my new PRN position. DH came home from traveling for work for DD2s birth and while he was home completely unpaid, they gave away his job. It sucks to have a baby in the USA.

jmarkert527

My employer offers 12 weeks at full pay plus my regular 4 week vacation allowance. I realize this is very generous and its one of the main reasons I still work there.

ltmacs

I work part time, about 24 hrs per week, and used my pto time, which was 124 hrs.  I got paid 20 hrs per week for 5 weeks.  then took unpaid for 7 weeks,

azaretsky

My employer offers 8 weeks of paid maternity leave and the ability to "cash in" and or all available vacation time for a total of about 12 weeks. I was in the position to negotiate and asked for an extended maternity leave of another 3 months, unpaid - for a total of 6 months with my baby. I am very lucky that our family can afford me to be out of work for 3 months. My employer was receptive to the idea. All in all - I got what I wanted, and got to spend precious time with my daughter.

julie1445

I was lucky that my employer does a top up to 92% of my salary and i can take a full year off, but this is also in Canada and military