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Bonding leave

xabenaxabena member
in Working Moms
Hello everybody. I'm a new mom and a preschool teacher. I had 8 weeks of state paid maternity leave after giving birth. I went back to work in October. I heard about a coworker who gave birth in December but she's coming back to work in March. I heard form an inlaw that you can take a family leave to bond with your child. Would I be able to do that even thou I went back to work. Now, bonding is not the same as maternity leave right? And can I get intermittent leave, or a part time schedule? Please share answers. Thank you.
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Re: Bonding leave

  • CarrieB.CarrieB. member
    I have sometimes heard FMLA be referred to as bonding leave. Maybe it's a Canadian term? You cannot work even part time or have gone back while on FMLA. You would have arranged this with your employer prior to going on leave.

    FMLA for maternity leave is usually 12 weeks, so Dec-March makes sense.
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  • VORVOR member
    That might be more in reference to people who adopt. Giving birth- there is a medical reason to take an extended period of time off and clearly some of that is for bonding. But for people adopt, there isn't a medical reason but they still need time to adjust, bond, etc. I've personally never heard of someone going back to work and then LATER taking time off to "bond".
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  • xabenaxabena member
    My friend actually started maternity leave on November and I heard she'll be back by March. She didn't have a c section. I didn't consider FL an option since my job demands a lot of planning. If any of you are teacher, then you understand what I'm talking about. The thought of fl came to me recently since I won't have my mother in low taking care of my baby anymore. I found a daycare nearby but but just the thought of leaving my baby with strangers consumes me. She's only four months and I'm having attachment issues.
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  • minirellaminirella member
    I took intermittent leave. Well, I'm still on it. It was arranged after I gave birth but I was not planning to give birth when I did and my boss is very understanding.
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  • Mustardseed2007Mustardseed2007 member

    What state/country are you in? If you are in California, then what privacywanted said will apply. If not, then what you are talking about seems like either an informal arrangement with the employer or another state specific law permitting additional leave time, similar to what California has.

    If you are in the US and your state does not have additional leave allowances, then federal law will be the only law that applies and intermittent leave is only available with the consent of your employer.

    Here's a faq from the DOL about FMLA for birth and bonding:

    https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28f.pdf

    Basically you have 12 months to take your leave, but you have to do it in a continuous block unless your employer agrees otherwise.




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