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Vent: Stuff I Wish Every Woman Knew

FemShepFemShep member
in Babies on the Brain
I wish there was a required class women took when they started thinking about TTC, and that it included the following topics:

Symptoms:  There are no classic "pregnancy" symptoms.  Every woman is different.  Every pregnancy is different.  Common early pregnancy symptoms are like PMS symptoms.  And cold symptoms.  And no symptoms at all.   Telling complete strangers about your symptoms doesn't give them any insight, AT ALL, into whether you may be pregnant.  Want to know if you're pregnant?  Take a pregnancy test.

Maternity leave:  FMLA is *not* paid maternity leave, it is simply a guarantee of an equivalent (NOT the same) job that applies to employees under a very specific set of circumstances.  Don't assume you'll qualify.  Don't assume your company has paid maternity leave; many companies pay benefits under their short-term disability plan, which usually pays partial salary for a set number of weeks and may require you to use additional vacation time too. Most companies require that the STD policy be in place before you get pregnant.   And for the love of your bank account, check into these things BEFORE you TTC!

"Regular" periods:  Just because you "always" have 28 day periods doesn't mean you always will.  The length of your period is determined by when you ovulated plus your luteal phase.  If you don't know when you ovulated, you don't know if you're actually late this period or if you simply ovulated late.  Now go read the symptoms paragraph.
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Re: Vent: Stuff I Wish Every Woman Knew

  • barefootbluejean204barefootbluejean204 member
    FemShep said:
    I wish there was a required class women took when they started thinking about TTC, and that it included the following topics:

    Symptoms:  There are no classic "pregnancy" symptoms.  Every woman is different.  Every pregnancy is different.  Common early pregnancy symptoms are like PMS symptoms.  And cold symptoms.  And no symptoms at all.   Telling complete strangers about your symptoms doesn't give them any insight, AT ALL, into whether you may be pregnant.  Want to know if you're pregnant?  Take a pregnancy test.

    Maternity leave:  FMLA is *not* paid maternity leave, it is simply a guarantee of an equivalent (NOT the same) job that applies to employees under a very specific set of circumstances.  Don't assume you'll qualify.  Don't assume your company has paid maternity leave; many companies pay benefits under their short-term disability plan, which usually pays partial salary for a set number of weeks and may require you to use additional vacation time too. Most companies require that the STD policy be in place before you get pregnant.   And for the love of your bank account, check into these things BEFORE you TTC!

    "Regular" periods:  Just because you "always" have 28 day periods doesn't mean you always will.  The length of your period is determined by when you ovulated plus your luteal phase.  If you don't know when you ovulated, you don't know if you're actually late this period or if you simply ovulated late.  Now go read the symptoms paragraph.
    That's a good point. This is an area I need to learn more about. How do you find out if you qualify?

    imageimage

    -Waiting for DH to be on board for TTC...discuss again in a year-
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  • FemShepFemShep member
    Here's a good place to start learning more about FMLA:

    If you have any questions about your specific situation, call your HR person, mention that you had some benefits questions and ask if you can confirm that FMLA is available.
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  • barefootbluejean204barefootbluejean204 member

    "FMLA applies to all public agencies, all public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees."

    I'm out. We have 22 full time employees. lol.

    Thanks though, I do need to have that conversation with our accountant who also handles benefits... in fact it is surprising that we haven't talked about it since she is always joking with me that I'll end up pr sooner than I think...ha.

    imageimage

    -Waiting for DH to be on board for TTC...discuss again in a year-
    Anniversary

     

    Report Reply
  • barefootbluejean204barefootbluejean204 member
    Thanks.

    imageimage

    -Waiting for DH to be on board for TTC...discuss again in a year-
    Anniversary

     

    Report Reply
  • veynamlveynaml member
    thanks for the good information! Not sure if anyone wrote this but FMLA only kicks in after a year of employment with your current company :)
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