I started my leave when I went into labour and grateful I did for the extra time with baby

It’s a personal choice and depends on what your job is I had a sit down job with little walking so I stayed until I went into labor. But keep in mind it may get harder towards the end of my pregnancy I was super tired and could never get up in time and was late to work almost every day😭

Start leave once you have the baby! If you are taking the max FMLA leave of 12 weeks you’re still going to want all the time you can have with the new baby!!

I think it very much depends where you are based and what your allowances are. I am UK based so I was due to start mine at 39 weeks but I had 3 weeks of paid holiday scheduled before that as I needed to use it up. He ended up coming early which triggered my mat leave early.

I’m in CA and took the 30 days prior to my due date because our FMLA allows 12 weeks. It protects your job while you’re out for bonding time but is unpaid. I took state paid disability first for 10-12 weeks (c section gets longer). Then activated my fmla so I had 6 months before I had to go back. dad gets fmla as well and he can spread that out over the 365 days from date of the claim. I had preeclampsia and had a csection at 38 weeks so planning on taking that month before really helped.

I think it depends on how stressful your job is, and also can you handle the stress.... I took my maternity leave a month before my due date because my job was stressful and I needed a break to rest. Whenever I was on the job, I couldn't switch off even when it was weekends. My baby came the week of her due date.

Depends on so many factors especially where in the US you live and what is allowed/offered by your employer. If you have disability insurance that won’t begin at all until the day you give birth. You MIGHT be successful in starting it earlier if your doctor deems it appropriate and necessary and the short term insurance approves it. If your company forces you to max out your paid time off while out… I would suggest using that if you want to go out early from your due date with pay. 1/2

I’m an ICU nurse and bc of the physicality of my job, I started having contractions at work at 34 weeks so my doctor made me go out on leave early to avoid preterm labor however my plan was to start at least a week early anyways. I had to go out on FMLA (unpaid) until she was actually born to start my 6 weeks paid maternity leave and then used my PTO after to get me to 12 weeks with my baby.

I got my induced on a Friday and began my maternity leave on the Wednesday before.

It’s definitely a personal choice and depends on your job. With my first he was due on a Wednesday I worked until that Friday. He came a whole week late. This time I’m due in November. I plan to work until I have the baby to maximize my time at home with my baby. I read some of your comments that you are on your feet a lot. Get a maternity belly band for back support. It will help.