Spin-Off: What Was Your Maternity Leave?

[BLAZEY]

Canadian here, I took a full year at 55% gross plus the child tax credit stuff, I filled in all the paperwork while in the hospital. Take home on mat leave wasn't much less than while working when accounting for payroll deductions. I got to spend a full year with my baby girl, and when I returned to work I had accrued all my vacation time and while I was off all my extended benefits were paid. I did cover for a few days when dd was 6 months old to cover someone on medical leave for about 5 days. My mum and SMIL looked after DD and the office manager made arrangements for me to pump at work. I just had the days I worked banked as addtional vacation days when I returned to work. I liked having an extra 5 vacation days to use at my leisure, and I actually liked working the few days, I needed adult interaction and it was sort of a refresher.

 

[spacemountainmom]

I took off 6 weeks with my first completely unpaid. My employer did pay for my portion of health insurance while I was out. I took 6 weeks off unpaid for my second child (same job) and was handed a bill when I returned asking me to reimburse them for my health insurance. I thought that was pretty petty. At that point I had worked for them for nine years.

I'd been back to work for 2 weeks when one of my husband's employees quit. We decided not to fill the position. My husband and I would split the duties. I could then afford to quit my job and stay home with the kids. I could do most of what I needed to at home and on the rare occasion that I needed to go in and work, I'd bring the kids with me.

I gave my employer a month's notice (which was too nice of me in light of the way I was treated) and was done 6 weeks after coming back to work.

 

[aprilgail]

We really had no "maternity leave" when I had my daughter in 1999- you could take off 6 weeks for vaginal birth and 8 weeks for a C-section and get paid for it if you had enough sick days stored up in your sick bank. I saved my vacation time so between that and my sick days I got paid for the 8 weeks. Then I took 2 unpaid weeks of family leave. I stopped working on Halloween and had my daughter 5 days later (4 weeks early)- when I worked it was physical climbing up and jumping off things 4 feet in the air so I stopped working before I thought I would, I was trying to make it till mid month but couldn't do it so I took 4 weeks vacation for what I thought was a month before hand but only ended up 5 days before hand! If you didn't have sick days and vacation time saved up you would get the 6 or 8 weeks off but unpaid.

 

[aprilgail]

I took 6 weeks off unpaid for my second child (same job) and was handed a bill when I returned asking me to reimburse them for my health insurance. I thought that was pretty petty. At that point I had worked for them for nine years.

.

Wow that is crazy- my employer paid 100% of my medical (still does even though I am retired) and one time I was out 3 months with a broken foot and they covered the medical insurance the whole time.

 

[ez]

Government Employee, worked till about 2 weeks up to delivery and took 12 weeks after so 14 weeks. Had to use sick leave hours to cover it there was no maternity leave pay in the federal government not sure if there is now, but I was allowed to take the time as long as I could cover it with the SL I had built up. I used my sick leave for when my kids were sick or when I had a baby. Whenever I was sick I had to work thru it!!

 

[usnuzuloose]

I don't know, I was made to go back t work.

 

[dhardawa]

With my first, I planned to take six weeks, but ended up taking 11 due to complications.

My second is not the norm. He was placed with me as a foster child when he was two days old. Technically, I could have taken 12 weeks off, but due to the unknowns with foster care, I chose not to risk taking that long only to lose him and have another placement where is need to take off again. I ended up taking two weeks and a day.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

With my first ds, I took 10 weeks off. I was able to use my sick leave for the first six. I had to take the other four unpaid (even though I had sick and personal days left.) Between my lost salary and having to pay my portion of health insurance, retirement, etc... It cost me almost $5,000. I went back for three weeks, and the had the summer off. (I'm a teacher.)

My second ds was born six weeks before summer break started, so it worked out perfectly.

 

[Minnesota!]

C/s... automatically got 8 weeks full pay for each kid. After that, we could take up to 16 weeks total, using our extended sick leave (you accumulate so many hours based on your length of service....I currently have about 600?). You could do STD, too, if needed. I think I took 12 weeks each time...I am not "stay at home" material...

 

[Poohforyou]

My dd is adopted and my employer at the time gave the same amount of leave for maternity and adoption. I got 12 weeks paid and took another 12 weeks unpaid.

 

[Meshell2002]

Kid #1 took 8 wks....4 weeks were paid as I had accumulated that much vacation time....I had been at that job 1 yr
Kid # 2 took 12 weeks....once again saved all my vacay and sick time between children to accumulate that much
I was at the same job and was a full time employee
Kid #3 I was unemployed at the time of the birth and started a new job shortly after her 1st bday...my spouse had a full time job and was laid off during that time so I went back to work.

 

[tinatark]

FMLA started in 1993. When I had my first son in 1994, I used 12 weeks, paid by my accumulated sick leave. Same with my second son in 1995. If there hadn't been FMLA, I could have taken longer - could have used all of my accumulated leave.

My portion of my employer sponsored health insurance was paid as long as I was out on fully paid leave. If it had been unpaid I would have have to pay for it.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Year with each kid funded by EI. Second leave i was topped up for most of the year by my employer.

 

[anna08]

Small business owner. Took exactly 6 weeks off. Had to pay overhead while gone. Maternity leave was expensive.

 

[DopeyDame]

My kids were adopted so I took twelve weeks FMLA but they were all unpaid since I didn't qualify for disability. DH took three weeks FMLA with each kid as well.
My company did continue to pay their normal share of insurance while I was out, so that was good

 

[mi*vida*loca]

4 weeks before and 6 weeks after were paid with disability. 66% of my pay covered through disability. My ESL (extended sick leave) bank covered the rest. Then I took 12 weeks of fmla unpaid. I live in NJ and work for a huge healthcare system.

 

[Gracie09]

I had 10 weeks before dd was born as disability due to pre-eclampsia. That was fully paid. Six weeks of disability after birth- also paid 100%. Then another 6 weeks at 60% due to state paid family leave. Then I took two 1/2 months without pay. I was out just shy of 6 months after birth. Dh had two weeks - one vacation one paternity.

 

[hereyago]

A couple years,lol. My then husband took off for a week, but used his vacation time.


My dd had her baby girl last year and I took off about a week and half to help her in hospital and coming home.

 

[Vicki926]

My employer gave 12 weeks but had to be 4 weeks before and 8 weeks after. I would have rather worked right up until the due date, but if I did that, I still would only get the 8 weeks after. If you went early a week or two, you just gave up those before weeks you didn't use, and your 8 weeks started from the date of birth.
I took FMLA for a year(job was guaranteed, but not necessarily in the same place), but never went back.
With my second child, I was still a stay at home mom, so not applicable.
My husband got some paternity leave though. Smallish family owned company, the owners wife was due around the same time as me, sp I think he was feeling generous. Lol. My husband had off the day I had our son(obviously), which was a Wednesday. Took off the rest of the week and then took every Wednesday for like 5 or 6 weeks.

 

[Christine]

Government Employee, worked till about 2 weeks up to delivery and took 12 weeks after so 14 weeks. Had to use sick leave hours to cover it there was no maternity leave pay in the federal government not sure if there is now, but I was allowed to take the time as long as I could cover it with the SL I had built up. I used my sick leave for when my kids were sick or when I had a baby. Whenever I was sick I had to work thru it!!

No, there still is not maternity leave nor do you have the option of purchasing short term disability through the government. Strange because most private sector companies who contract with the government offer it. I'm not sure why the government doesn't--they don't even have to pay for it--just offer it so you can get at least 6 weeks covered through medical.