Maternity Leave Survey

kvruns

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?

Any extra perks your company provides?

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?

tigerfish227

I'm taking 12 weeks at 100% pay. I'm eligible for 8 weeks at 100% from short term disability then vacation and personal time(2 weeks) and my employer offers 10 days (2 work weeks) paid parental leave that can be taken within 6 months of birth.

DH is taking 2 weeks unpaid that we have saved up for. We wish he could take more time but he's only been at the company since December last year so he isn't eligible yet for much.

rspalding001

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby? 4 weeks before (started this week) and 5 months after

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix? 6 weeks paid by CA SDI, maybe another 6 of paid family leave also through the state, need to apply to see if I qualify and for how much though. Everything else will be unpaid.

Any extra perks your company provides? nonpe nada through the company

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc? DH actually gets 16 weeks paid leave BUT will probably not take more than 2 because to do so would be like giving the big middle finger to his career. Its kinda frustrating actually because it would be so awesome to have him home, however he is trying to get promoted and there is no way he will do it. If however he finds out he is not getting promoted we talked about him taking all his leave (16 weeks PFL plus 2 months vacation time) and just saying F you to his current job. Anyway its super great that his firm offers such great benefits. I just wish it was easier for him to take the time without consequences.

kvruns

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?  12 weeks. Planning to work until due date although will probably work from home the week of my due date (and any time after)

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix? Mix. I just mapped it all out and it comes out better than I thought. I should have 26 days paid by company (maternity leave + holidays) and then short-term disability for 4-6 weeks at partial pay. I'll supplement in about 100 hours of PTO mostly because if I don't then I'll have too much left over when our PTO renews 7/1 and I will forfeit some

Any extra perks your company provides? For the first 8 weeks after you return you can either work 4 days but get paid for 5 or work a reduced schedule of 30-32 hours and come in late/leave early every day. Not sure which I will do, I see perks to full days off but also to having more time to get going with the kid and then more evening time. 

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc? He can use accrued sick and vacation time but he doesn't receive any paid time. He has a ton of accrued time so I think he plans to take 2 weeks off, then work from home one week, then take off at Christmas/New Years week so he will be around a lot at the beginning. 

BmcD2016

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby? 8 weeks for standard c-section recovery

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix? Paid, partially. My short term disability is only 55% with a max of like $400 or something a week, so I'm really getting screwed. 

Any extra perks your company provides? Definitely not

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc? Nope. He has to use his sick/ vacation time that he's saved. 

atcwag

12 weeks FMLA. 

Unpaid officially, but I have PTO accrued that will pay me out about 10 weeks and I pay into a STD policy that pays a portion of my salary for 6 weeks (or 8 weeks if I have a CS). 

Nope. 

He doesnt get anything special, but can take unpaid FMLA if he wishes. He won't take more than a few days most likely - depending on when baby comes. I'm hoping baby comes the week of TGing because he is off Th-M that week. He is already scheduled for about 2.5 weeks of vacation mid-December until after the first of the year. 

FirePoppy

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?
5 months
Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
paid
Any extra perks your company provides?
nope
Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
4 weeks paid at first, then another 6 weeks paid once I return to work in May (as primary caregiver)

kmmnocal

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby? From late November to mid-March, dates dependent on when she shows up. 

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix? Unpaid, I'm a freelance writer (womp.) I could have qualified for disability had I paid into a certain fund on my taxes, but I doubt it would have net super positive for me, honestly. 

Any extra perks your company provides? The good (and surprisingly well-timed) news is that I accepted a full time role beginning mid-March. The company is allowing me to start 3 days/week for the first four weeks and then full time hours after that. 

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc? 6 weeks of partial pay disability per CA law, 5 weeks of which is supplemented to 100% pay by his employer. He has 6 months to take the leave so by filling in the three days/week I work in March, we can buy ourselves about 5 weeks of extra time at home before baby has to go to daycare. His company also has an unlimited vacation policy (which has its pros and cons, but sounds lovely on paper), so should we decide to do a trip away before I go back to work, he can differentiate between paternity and vacation time off. While my situation isn't ideal, I feel SO fortunate my husband's company is so accommodating. 

hoosiermama-2

Really debated reading this thread—this topic gets me so HEATED! I have a coworker who was at another company when she had her son and she only got six weeks. It makes me literally sick, the lack of support women get from a majority of the workforce. Uggghhh!

We're very lucky...
How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby? 16 weeks.

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix? Paid.

Any extra perks your company provides? We have a freedom policy (i.e. unlimited time off) and flexible scheduling. I'm only the second lady to have a baby in our 10-year history, and the last was years ago... so I've been able to help create the new precedent. (Freedom policy means freedom policy to me—we shouldn't need a specific maternity policy, IMHO, but whatever.) I'll be able to transition back in with flexible hours, and work from home when I need or want to. Seriously #blessed. Still dreading daycare though

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc? He's a teacher, and we really lucked out with timing. He gets 10 days [2 school weeks] of paternal leave, will take 10 more paid sick days, and that'll take us to winter break—two more weeks! 

PrettyPalomino

Canadian here, so I get a year off paid. The first 17 weeks are maternity leave, my work tops up my EI from the government to 85% of my regular salary, and then for the remaining 35 weeks I get 55% of my salary, just from the gov. DH won't be taking paternity leave this time around as it would be too tight financially, but he will be off unpaid for the first couple of weeks as I recover. I guess a "perk" from work is that I continue to contribute to my pension and accumulate vacation so I get to tack on my 3 weeks of vacation in 2017 to the end of my leave, so really I'm off for a year and 3 weeks. 

I don't want to stir the pot or anything, but I really feel sad when I think about maternity leave in the US. You guys are troopers and mommy machines, the double standard just about enrages me.

It's easy for me to watch CNN and think to myself, "why don't anericans just agree to pay more taxes and trust their government with the money for social programs?" but in reality, Canada is 1/10th of the population of the US, SO much less money for a government to manage and easier to be held accountable for said money, not to mention the allocation of tax dollars is drastically different considering the global role America plays abroad. Oops, off on a tangent. 

My point is, it's inspirational to read about your pumping at work, daycare arrangements, and commitment to family. 

laurenlalap

PrettyPalomino said:

Canadian here, so I get a year off paid. The first 17 weeks are maternity leave, my work tops up my EI from the government to 85% of my regular salary, and then for the remaining 35 weeks I get 55% of my salary, just from the gov. DH won't be taking paternity leave this time around as it would be too tight financially, but he will be off unpaid for the first couple of weeks as I recover. I guess a "perk" from work is that I continue to contribute to my pension and accumulate vacation so I get to tack on my 3 weeks of vacation in 2017 to the end of my leave, so really I'm off for a year and 3 weeks. 

I don't want to stir the pot or anything, but I really feel sad when I think about maternity leave in the US. You guys are troopers and mommy machines, the double standard just about enrages me.

It's easy for me to watch CNN and think to myself, "why don't anericans just agree to pay more taxes and trust their government with the money for social programs?" but in reality, Canada is 1/10th of the population of the US, SO much less money for a government to manage and easier to be held accountable for said money, not to mention the allocation of tax dollars is drastically different considering the global role America plays abroad. Oops, off on a tangent. 

My point is, it's inspirational to read about your pumping at work, daycare arrangements, and commitment to family. 

This x 100. I'm also Canadian and I'm amazed every time I read a post about mat. leave.

hoosiermama-2

You are absolutely right—it is sad and enraging at the same time.

atcwag

PrettyPalomino said:

Canadian here, so I get a year off paid. The first 17 weeks are maternity leave, my work tops up my EI from the government to 85% of my regular salary, and then for the remaining 35 weeks I get 55% of my salary, just from the gov. DH won't be taking paternity leave this time around as it would be too tight financially, but he will be off unpaid for the first couple of weeks as I recover. I guess a "perk" from work is that I continue to contribute to my pension and accumulate vacation so I get to tack on my 3 weeks of vacation in 2017 to the end of my leave, so really I'm off for a year and 3 weeks. 

I don't want to stir the pot or anything, but I really feel sad when I think about maternity leave in the US. You guys are troopers and mommy machines, the double standard just about enrages me.

It's easy for me to watch CNN and think to myself, "why don't anericans just agree to pay more taxes and trust their government with the money for social programs?" but in reality, Canada is 1/10th of the population of the US, SO much less money for a government to manage and easier to be held accountable for said money, not to mention the allocation of tax dollars is drastically different considering the global role America plays abroad. Oops, off on a tangent. 

My point is, it's inspirational to read about your pumping at work, daycare arrangements, and commitment to family. 

Thanks. As a momma living in the US, our situation is enraging, but mostly heartbreaking. It really does just suck. 

leighry

@PrettyPalomino as much as it sucks to be in the US as a momma when it comes to MAT leave (and it really really sucks how little we are thought of), it makes me happy to see so many other countries value the work mom's do! Especially in that first 6 months to a year of life. It gives me hope that maybe when my girls are old enough to begin a family of their own our country will have picked up some pointers from the rest of the world. Enjoy every minute of your deserved time to dedicate to your family.

Knottie1458416769

3 months paid maternity leave and 6 wks PTO. DH gets a year paid but neither of us will be taking the max otherwise it's guaranteed career suicide. We will hire a nanny to live with us and take care of baby during the day. While the concept of lengthy leave sounds appealing, I'd rather get back on track with my job and hire help as needed instead of paying higher taxes and coming back a year later, esp in my field where the job will most definitely not be the same anymore even if your boss tried to accommodate. 

jmama1611

I'm also Canadian.

No mat leave (paid or unpaid) because I'm already a stay-at-home-mom. Plan on staying home until whenever our youngest starts school.

My husband has saved up 2 weeks of vacation time so that will be great in helping us transition from a family of 3 to 4.

RedHead0917

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby? 12 Weeks

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix? Mixed--I pay for short term disability which will send me a lump sum check that covers 60% of my pay for 6 weeks, then sick and vacation time.  All in all I basically have 6 weeks paid and 6 weeks unpaid.

Any extra perks your company provides? NOPE!!  Unpaid leave in accordance with the law--which is a max of 12 weeks.

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc? He's unemployed currently but hopefully will have a job by then.

MrsBigTime

kvruns said:

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?

12 weeks

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?

I have 6 weeks of short term disability (8 weeks if C section) where I am paid 65% of my average income, untaxed. The rest of my time is whatever I have in my vacation bank, which is not enough to cover the last ) weeks of my leave. I'm not yet sure what we're gonna do, but we'll figure something out because my days are too long to leave a baby any earlier than 12 weeks. 

Any extra perks your company provides?

No...which is unfortunate! We have come a long way with supporting pumping moms though, so that is a blessing.

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?

DH can take a big chunk of leave, but it's not paid. He has about a month of sick time, so he'll be taking that. He has the option to take more leave at a later date, and I'm hoping he will be able to take one day a week off when I go back to work, just so that we will be able to keep the girls home for one month longer.

LadyBugMe101

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby? I am planning on at least 8 weeks off after baby is here.

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix? I have one full week of accrued time off of which I will get FT pay. After that I am taking the 6/8 weeks of maternity leave at 55% of my pay. I would have had more PTO accrued but I just started this job mid last month. However thanks to my drafting background I can pick up projects here and there as I see fit to supplement pay and I can work from home. Hopefully this allows me to extend my leave a bit.

 Any extra perks your company provides? Unfortunately no extra perks other than allowing me to adjust my schedule to work min of 32 hours per week

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc? We are only planning on him taking 2 weeks off which will be his vacation time at full pay. His company closes a few days for the holidays so that buys us some time as well. In total we will have about 3 weeks for him to spend with us. 

kvruns

Just a PSA for those in the US using short-term disability. You might want to check and see if your plan has an elimination period (aka waiting period) before benefits start. Mine, for example, is 6 or 8 weeks depending on type of birth but there is a 2 week elimination period so the actual benefit paid is 4/6 weeks not the full 6/8 weeks. Some plans don't have a waiting period, others are 1 week but just an FYI to check so you know in advance.

arcticseal-2

I'm Canadian and a SAHM.   No clue when/if I plan to go back to work.   However, my husband is taking some parental leave and will be off mostly from when baby is born to New Years.   He works for provincial government and his top ups are pretty good.

bzzrbee28

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?
12 weeks FMLA
Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
Mostly unpaid. They have me take a week vacation for the first week and then i get 8 weeks disability. 
Any extra perks your company provides?
None but i do work from home which makes everything a little bit easier. 
Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
Yes he gets 4 weeks paid - lucky guy. 

hollowway

I'm staying home with the kids after LO is born so no maternity leave for me technically and no paycheck. DH is taking his FMLA, but not sure if he'll be paid yet. Legally they can't deny him the FMLA, but whether it's paid or not is another question and HR is dragging their feet on that.

hoosiermama-2

@MaMaBear1323 So frustrating and inconsiderate! Good luck.

jlpsantiago68

Florida Mommy:

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?
8 weeks

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
I have 1 week paid due to accured vaction time then the rest will be unpaid. My company gives us 6 weeks maternity leave and 6 weeks bonding time. But unless you have sick, personal or vacation time saved then your maternity leave will be unpaid. Bonding time is also unpaid. I was told that I would not get short term disability unless I have complications during or after delivery. Even though I pay into my short term disability.

Any extra perks your company provides?
None and I work for a University.

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
He gets FMLA but unpaid if he has not have any time saved up.

MrsBigTime

@jlpsantiago68
That seems ridiculous that you pay for STD insurance and you can't  use it for recovery from a birth. Any birth requires recovery - I'm sure you have, but have you contacted your disability company directly? 

I will just say that it is appalling that very few US moms have access to paid leave. Absolutely ridiculous. 

kvruns

@jlpsantiago68 definitely contact the insurance carrier you pay for STD. Giving birth is covered under standard STD plans since you are technically considered disabled for 6-8 weeks depending on delivery type. I can't imagine a plan would carve out maternity from an STD plan - I'm not even sure it is possible to do that so it sounds fishy. Bonding time is not covered under STD

summerpsl

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby? 
7 or 8 weeks. She will be put into daycare following. 
Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
Unpaid by the company. I paid into short term disability so I have to use 2 weeks of my own accrued time and then 4 to 6 weeks of STD pay at 60%. I will be having a c section on November 10th so I'm not sure if they will cover 6 or 8 weeks.
Any extra perks your company provides?
No, I work for a hospital and you would think I would.. I asked to work a week from home but was shut down by my manager. She said there was no way I could work from home for 40 hrs with an infant. I said I could work for 20 to help out and still got the cold shoulder. After this conversation she asked if it would be ok if she contacted me with questions while I was on leave. No thanks..
Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
No paid leave. The last I heard was that his boss would "work" with him on some time off. He might work some half days. My income in the main income so we will need all we can get since it's only 60%. 

Definitely envious of you Canadian ladies! 

BLyn627

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby? 8 weeks 

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix? paid - I'm a teacher. We get 15 sick days a year and what we don't use rolls over. I have around 55 but can only use them for the 8 weeks my dr will sign off on for a csection. It would be 6 for vaginal delivery. I could take up to 12, and use my personal days (we get it 2 a year and I have 14 accumulated), but I don't think I'll use any. 

Any extra perks your company provides? not really...unless you count that I don't have to use my sick days during any of the holiday breaks that occur during my maternity leave to still get paid. They will just automatically get paid, so 3 days for thanksgiving and 10 days for Christmas that I won't have to use sick days on.

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc? he's currently laid off so unless he can comes across a really good job in his field that he really wants, he's holding off until the new year to get back into working. 

eribeau

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?

After baby is born will be off until middle of April roughly. I live in a seasonal tourist town and am a server. My restaurant closes down for the winter until the middle of April. 
Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
Mix as I will be getting unemployment after December 15 when my restaurant closes down for the winter. 

Any extra perks your company provides?

Nope. 
Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
He actually gets 2 weeks paid vacation every year on his anniversary of employment and 1 week of sick. He will be using 1 week when she gets here, and in March when we go to get his grandma from Minnesota to move her down here to Missouri he will be taking another week off with her and I. 

rencontrezmoi

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?
I'm using 2 weeks of a personal leave, and 6 weeks of FMLA (I don't qualify until December 2nd). So 8 weeks total.

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
Mostly unpaid I only have 2 weeks of PTO in my bank, so 6 weeks will be completely unpaid.

Any extra perks your company provides?
Nada.

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
Nope. He would also have to use FMLA (unpaid), and we absolutely can't afford to have zero income. So he won't be taking any time off

HeatherC527

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?

Canadian mom here. I have 52 weeks combined maternity and parental leave. I started mat leave at 36 weeks so LO will be 11 months when I go back to work.o

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?

government pays 55% of what you earned in the previous 52 weeks.

Any extra perks your company provides?

For 17 weeks my company will top up the 55% to 95% provided that I return to work full time for at least 6 months. If I don't return I have to pay back the 40%.

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc

DH gets 5 days paid paternity leave starting from when I go into labour (if that's on a work day).

ashleymercado88

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?
I am taking 8 weeks.

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
Mix. About 2 personal days and 1 1/2 weeks of sick leave plus borrowing from the sick leave pool, which I get to "pay back" through giving of some sick days each year I work in my school district. That is about 6 weeks total and the other two weeks will be unpaid.

Any extra perks your company provides?
In public education...no. 

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
No. DH will probably just take off the day(s) I'm in labor/delivery and first day after baby girl is born, providing they fall on work days for him.

Muscatmommyof4

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby? 
Im a SAHM for the next 5yrs 

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
Because I was working when I got pregnant I qualify for SDI for 4weeks which ended the 24th (day I delivered) but now I will get paid for 12weeks 6weeks healing 6weeks for bonding. 

Any extra perks your company provides? 


Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc? 
He gets 6 weeks FMLA paid so he took a week this past week and is going to break up the rest during the holidays. 

erinlin25

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?
at least 8 weeks, but if all goes smoothly I will WFH after that.

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
I am a business owner, so its unpaid.  We have a separate STD policy that will pay me 6 weeks so that will help, and as long as our company continues to produce hours I will still get to take some draws but not what I regularly would get. 

Any extra perks your company provides?
Not for us; at least I can make a flexible schedule and our hope is that I can WFH or go part time come 2017, but I don't get guarantees.

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
H is the other owner, so no guaranteed paid leave.  We've hopefully prepared our employees well and they will continue to produce the numbers we need to take regular draws but end of the day we need H there if we want to make money.  We have a past employee who has offered doing contract work for us on Friday's if H needs some time off here and there, so that was very cool of him and we plan on taking him upon his offer.

MrsMaryK2016

erinlin25 said:

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?
at least 8 weeks, but if all goes smoothly I will WFH after that.

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
I am a business owner, so its unpaid.  We have a separate STD policy that will pay me 6 weeks so that will help, and as long as our company continues to produce hours I will still get to take some draws but not what I regularly would get. 

Any extra perks your company provides?
Not for us; at least I can make a flexible schedule and our hope is that I can WFH or go part time come 2017, but I don't get guarantees.

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
H is the other owner, so no guaranteed paid leave.  We've hopefully prepared our employees well and they will continue to produce the numbers we need to take regular draws but end of the day we need H there if we want to make money.  We have a past employee who has offered doing contract work for us on Friday's if H needs some time off here and there, so that was very cool of him and we plan on taking him upon his offer.

This is my story too. Today is "my last day" but I'll still be doing bookkeeping throughout maternity leave from home. My plan is to return to work part time temporarily in February but it all depends on if the business needs me here or not. Just like you said, business owners don't get guarantees! 

My H isn't planning on taking any real time off. He's going to be at the hospital with us but then he'll be back in the office for at least half days pretty quickly after we come home. And even when he is home, he'll probably be doing conference calls and stuff from the couch. It is what it is and the only option I have is to roll with it. We'll figure it out!

lesperla

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?
I'm taking 12 weeks and then 1 month of part-time to ease back into work. 

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix?
4 weeks 100%
6 weeks 60%
1 week vacation (100%)
1 week unpaid

Any extra perks your company provides?
They're really flexible when it comes to work hours (as long as I get my 40+ hours in, they don't really care how I do it). I can also work from home most of the time since it's a software development company. 

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?
He gets 12 weeks of FMLA. He's taking 3 weeks paid leave now and then will use the rest if needed for emergencies or if the baby is sick. He works for the state so he just keeps accruing a ridiculous amount of sick time. 

Pachita

How long are you taking off after the birth of the baby?  I'm not going back to work until September 2017 (I'm a teacher)

Will your leave be paid, unpaid, or a mix? I get paid 6 weeks after baby's birth if delivering naturally.  8 weeks paid if I deliver by C-Section. So we'll be living off DH's income for a good 8 months.

Any extra perks your company provides? I can take up to 2 years off while still keeping my job (no health insurance if you take off more than one year).  

Does your SO get parental leave? If so, how long, paid/unpaid/etc?  He can get up to 60 paid days as long as they're taken before baby's 1st year.