Maternity Leave

KmdnKadmom · April 2014

I am sure this issue has been visited but i am currently having issues with getting my leave from work. I want to work until i am 38 weeks and i was told by the company and my doctor that i couldn't take leave until my due date. My issue with this is in the state law for FMLA it clearly says i can take time for prenatal care and it is becoming increasing difficult physically for me to work. Everyday i leave work in pain and it is only getting worse and my doctor does not seem to care. So when are some of the other mothers taking leave and how was the process for getting leave for you?

elsa1688 · April 2014

My company is small enough that I get zero anything. Not even PTO.
If you are concerned you are not being treated fairly or legally, I would suggest contacting the L&I in your state and/or a lawyer if financially possible.

TheMrs820 · April 2014

What's your doctor said? I may consider changing physicians if they aren't listening to you.

ElTrain5 · April 2014

Fmla isn't just for delivery and recovery, it can also be used for the care and treatment of any serious health condition. To use fmla for care associated with your pregnancy prior to delivery you'd typically need your doctor to write something to substantiate the need for your absence. Each company handles it differently (mine has a form for them to fill out, but a smaller company may just require a letter of some sort). Either way you'd need your doctor to be onboard. Have you told them how difficult you're finding it to complete your job duties? Can you get ahold of a "job description" outlining the requirements of your position and present it to your doctor, that way he/she can write someone up about how you won't be able to fulfil those duties due to complications associate a with your pregnancy?

nunzchucks · April 2014

My sympathy level is low here. My old job had the exact same policy. It is not uncommon. I wasn't allowed to go on leave until the day DD was born which means the day I was in labor, I was using PTO. I am assuming your company will have you use your short term disability first and the remainder of your leave is unpaid FMLA. You'll need to check the STD policies and likely have a doctor's note to start STD early.

MrsNunes · April 2014

Short term disability is there for a mother's recovery. Insurance companies don't grant STD for being "tired and uncomfortable", it's meant as a recovery period for the mother. Usually 6 wks postpartum for vaginal delivery and about 10 wks pp for c-section. That's why it doesn't kick in until you actually have the baby. Unfortunately, it also doesn't cover a "child care" period either (say, if you were preterm and baby had to stay in the NICU for a while, it wouldn't be covered, you would have to use FMLA). I think the only way to leave earlier is for a medically documented reason which would require doctor's orders. Maybe you can talk to your boss about somehow lightening the workload as you get closer to your due date?

Katieluc106 · April 2014

I'm a stay at home mom to a 2 1/2 year old who knows something is up and always wants to be held and carried .... She's 40 pounds. My back is ALWAYS KILLING ME. I'm tired ALL the time. I have to pee all the time. But I plan to parent until the second I go into labor. Even then I'll have to have her ready and changed to go to my grandmothers so I can go to the hospital to deliver.

Pregnancy is tough. Parenthood is even tougher.

babygabe614 · April 2014

Not sure what you do for a living, but is there any way you can work remotely/from home? I am going to be asking my boss if I can WFH the last 2-4 weeks before I go out on leave because my leave (short term disability) doesn't start until the day I'm due.

flerlgirl · April 2014

I'm a SAHM sooooo I get to take my leave on the 4th of never. But snuff's links should help you out. GL.

becomingmommyagain · April 2014

STD will cover you prior to the delivery if you have a medical issue that impairs your ability to perform your job and accommodations in the work place are not available. For example, if you get put on strict bed rest it is likely that your employer will not be able to accommodate you in the office, however, if working from home is an option, they may offer this as an accommodation. Initiating STD prior to delivery should not affect the number of weeks you are eligible for post-partum leave, however, it will count towards your total days of STD available per fiscal/calendar year (most policies are for 26 weeks on STD and then flip to LTD after). Another thing to take note of, your STD policy typically will have a sliding scale for payment. Mine for example pays the first 6 weeks at 100% of salary, between week 6-12 it drops to 70%, and between weeks 12-26 it drops to 40%. So taking STD early will likely affect your payout during the 6 weeks post-partum leave portion

Being uncomfortable is not a valid option for initiating STD. If you feel that you are having symptoms that may comprise your health and the baby, you should talk to your physician. If you are in disagreement, get a second opinion. If your OB or generalist is not on board with you going out early, your only option would be to use PTO - and your employer has to approve your request to take PTO.

If I were you, I'd put together a maternity leave transition plan and present it to your employer. Your plan should be comprehensive and account for who will manage your job duties in your absence and a training schedule. Create SOPs and detailed instructions if you dont already have them. If a temp is to be brought in, suggest the appropriate amount of time overlap that will be needed for training. If you are able to perform some duties from home, request adjusting your in office hours to half days or 2-3 times per week to make your leave transition a little softer for everyone.

brennan2721 · April 2014

I don't plan on taking off until I am in labor. I don't want to waste any of my 12 weeks off until the baby is here. I usually and tired, cranky, and my feet are usually throbbing after working... But I'll take it for more time with my babe after delivery!

Susanrush13 · April 2014

Honestly that's pretty standard, so unless you want to use personal leave or unpaid leave until the due date, I'd suck it up as long as you can. I had this talk with my boss and dr separately and I'm having all the typical 3rd trimester symptoms; super exhausted, swollen at the end of the day, hip/back/all over pain, plus I commute 2hrs one day AND i'm in school three nights a week. My boss is super blunt and basically said "it sucks but you can't start the maternity leave before the baby comes because you're tired."

This stage of pregnancy is the pits for a lot of people. I believe my dr is going to write me a note saying I can stop working at 38 weeks but that means I start using 2 weeks of my own saved up leave, then on June 6 or whenever he's born, I can start my company's maternity leave.

Complete side note but I learned last week that my association agreed to up their decade old 1 week paid maternity/paternity leave to 4 weeks paid maternity/paternity leave, so I'm super cised about this!

curlylocks3 · April 2014

My understanding of short term disability is that it is there for people who are physically unable to perform their job duties due to being ill or incapacitated. Generally speaking, physical discomfort- unless to the degree that you are incapable of doing the tasks required- does not qualify.
Alwo, each company will have their own rules about what is covered (example: my STD covers 6 weeks postpartum and doesn't care that I physically would not be able to perform the lifting requirements for it until 12 weeks if I have a csection).

You could ask your employer about using PTO time to cover the period of 38 weeks until you deliver but that would still be up to them to approve. I recommend the approach @becomingmommyagain‌ suggested of drawing up a plan to show how your position would be covered during your leave, etc, to hopefully show your employers it would be a smooth transition.

otter1103 · April 2014

With any leave benefit, whether short term disability (STD) or FMLA, the leave period is somewhat directed by the certification your doctor completes for your leave. The 12 weeks of allowed FMLA leave can be taken periodically as needed for appointments be for or after you deliver as well. You must talk to your doctor about whether you can start your leave early and also with your HR department. Keep in mind if you go on FMLA leave now, that is less job protected time you will have after baby is born.

lest12 · April 2014

I wanted to add that it may be a little 'odd' to request a doctor to write you a note, today, when you are say, 31 weeks, stating you'll need to stay home at 38 weeks due to a medical condition.

Is the doctor psychic? How do they know how you'll feel at week 38?

Are they open to writing the note if things worsen at 38 weeks?

I ask because I had some 'issues' with my company policy & doctor's office... and I asked the doctor to write my FMLA note extending it to 12 weeks so that I could use PTO. They were hesitant, because they don't know what I'll look like 10 weeks PP. They preferred to keep the original note (6 weeks) and revisit then. Totally understandable IMO.

Does this make sense?

tnd1218 · April 2014

I will not be taking off till I deliver. I work 3 12 hour shifts a week and I am home with a 12 year old who is very active in dance and a 4 yr old who likes to be everywhere on my "off days". My feet are swollen at the end of my shifts, my back hurts, I have tons of pressure daily, but I will not ask my Doctor to write me a note for when I am 38 weeks because I may not be well. I really do not know of any doctor who would write a note for that reason. Being uncomfortable and swollen is just a part of pregnancy unless you have a condition you have not made us aware of.

flerlgirl · April 2014

@emotionlotion - your coworker is annoying ME and I don't even know the woman. Suck it up, buttercup.

snowpants · April 2014

First I'm sorry that you're having a hard time. I'm guessing most of us are feeling various levels of pain and discomfort during the day at this point in the pregnancy. I'm not discounting what you're feeling, since I obviously don't know and maybe yours is really bad, but know you're not alone. If you're honestly in enough pain to not work then you should definitely talk to your doctor about it and if he isn't listening to you then maybe get a second opinion.

As with many others here I don't plan to take any FMLA until baby is here. I did the same with my first LO. (In fact with my first I was induced on a Wednesday, baby was born on Thursday and I used sick leave those two days and didn't start FMLA until my first full day after birth because I wanted FMLA to stretch out as long as possible.)

If it's possible for you to power through, so-to-speak, you'll probably be really happy to have the extra time at the end. If not, and if you feel like your company isn't allowing you to use the benefits available then I agree with @elsa1688 in contacting Labor and Industry for your state and asking to talk to someone in Labor Standards. GL.

hollygb22 · April 2014

I'm allowed 13 weeks at 60% pay.

I haven't been at this company long (it's a large company) and am still researching the policy...but someone just went out on leave and someone that recently did chatted with me. They were only allowed to use leave before the birth if they were unable to work due to a medical condition that the doctor verified and wrote them out of work for.

flerlgirl · April 2014

emotionlotion said:

@emotionlotion - your coworker is annoying ME and I don't even know the woman. Suck it up, buttercup.
Thank you. It is hard to criticize as every pregnancy is different, but she's like that when she's not pregnant (calls out for 'headaches' and is lazy at work). Some people are not willing to tell any pregnant woman to 'suck it up' but there are definitely folks out there who play the pregnancy card and screw up things for others at work. She strung us along for months and months by calling out daily (apparently intermittent leave allows you to do that) so she was still on the schedule and we were always scrambling. Now we're down a person while already short staffed and can't hire a replacement until she tells us she's not coming back after leave (she's definitely not, she moved a far commuting distance and wouldn't even make it to work when she lived 3 minutes away.). She's a piece of work! /End thread jacking

Wow. She sounds teriff. I mean I know some people have genuine concerns or conditions that don't allow them to work but it sounds like she just wants to do nothing at all. And, hey, I want that, too. But my kid gets mad when I don't feed him and stuff. I am very evilly excited about this woman's life when she realizes she can't tell a NB that she is too tired to change him right then.

KmdnKadmom · May 2014

I do not know how many of you women who commented actually have physically demanding jobs but doesn't sound like many. I am now 39 weeks and incapable of physically performing my job duties and my doctor still will wont write me off of work. I have had to go to physical therapist and chiropractors to make it this far and I feel as if i have been putting my unborn child in harms way the entire last trimester of my pregnancy. To the stay at home mom, dont applaud your self too much I have a 6 year old and work a full time job so what your doing is nothing new to me. Thanks to all the people who offered real advice!

ElTrain5 · May 2014

KmdnKadmom said:
I do not know how many of you women who commented actually have physically demanding jobs but doesn't sound like many. I am now 39 weeks and incapable of physically performing my job duties and my doctor still will wont write me off of work. I have had to go to physical therapist and chiropractors to make it this far and I feel as if i have been putting my unborn child in harms way the entire last trimester of my pregnancy. To the stay at home mom, dont applaud your self too much I have a 6 year old and work a full time job so what your doing is nothing new to me. Thanks to all the people who offered real advice!

QFP

OP did you just like...wake up from a nap and think "hey, wonder whatever happened to that question I asked a board of Internet strangers over a month ago...."??

diagonalley · May 2014

KmdnKadmom said:

I do not know how many of you women who commented actually have physically demanding jobs but doesn't sound like many. I am now 39 weeks and incapable of physically performing my job duties and my doctor still will wont write me off of work. I have had to go to physical therapist and chiropractors to make it this far and I feel as if i have been putting my unborn child in harms way the entire last trimester of my pregnancy. To the stay at home mom, dont applaud your self too much I have a 6 year old and work a full time job so what your doing is nothing new to me. Thanks to all the people who offered real advice!

What is your job that is so physically demanding? And how do you know what anyone else here does for a living? That's great that you have a 6 year old, butttttt you're not home with him or her all day long so seriously, tread carefully about commenting about the stay at home mom, especially considering she has had a hell of a year with her son coming significantly earlier than expected. I would not want her job any day as I imagine it was way more stressful having a baby in the NICU for several months than whatever your physically demanding job that your doctor doesn't seem to have an issue with. I'm allowed to have that opinion because I know what it was like to have a son in the NICU for only 12 days, and that doesn't even compare to her son's stay. And seriously if this was a legit problem, why haven't you changed doctors yet?

ElTrain5 · May 2014

If only she'd come back a little sooner we could have given her"most likely to get a ride in the whambulance"

Seriously though, people gave you good advice, asked you good questions, and provided honest feedback to your situation. You ignored it all for six weeks, responded to none of the clarifying questions, and then came back and complained some more while making a feeble attempt at calling out a SAHM? Time to go back to your nap, this isn't working out for you.

elsa1688 · May 2014

OP - you suck. I'm 37+ weeks and in the middle of an 11 day work stretch. I had a medical procedure and came to work today. I'm managing 4 beer gardens at a large festival which is physically demanding. I'm not looking for a medal but you aren't a special snowflake either.

nunzchucks · May 2014

Well, there's one more for the post it. You can see yourself right out for the SAHM comment. Calling out another mom like that is really shitty. You should be ashamed.

Katieluc106 · May 2014

I really need someone to applaud me for being a stay at home mom. I feel butthurt

Want a personalized experience?

Maternity Leave

Re: Maternity Leave

Choose Another Board

Search Boards